Ky. teen couple on the run, suspected in multi-state crime spree

Authorities say they believe the couple has traveled to Manning, South Carolina, and Henry County, Georgia. Along the way, law enforcement say they're suspected of stealing multiple vehicles and using stolen checks.

Authorities are looking for a teenage couple from central Kentucky who are suspected in a multi-state crime spree.

Grayson County Sheriff Norman Chaffins says 18-year-old Dalton Hayes disappeared Jan. 3 with a 13-year-old girl. Since then, authorities say they believe the couple has traveled to Manning, South Carolina, and Henry County, Georgia. Along the way, law enforcement say they're suspected of stealing multiple vehicles and using stolen checks.

Chaffins said it's imperative that authorities locate the two "as their behavior is becoming increasing brazen and dangerous." They have already evaded law enforcement twice, he said.

The two were spotted Monday at a Wal-Mart in South Carolina. On Thursday, authorities in Georgia found the vehicle they had been using abandoned, and another vehicle with guns was reported stolen from a nearby location.

Chaffins said authorities now believe the two are traveling in a 2001 Silver Toyota Tundra with a license plate number of CR116I.

Chaffins says anyone who spots the couple should call 911.

The situation is getting more serious as more time passes, he said.

"These are two local kids that everybody here knows," he told the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader. "But now, they're in another state where people don't know them. Other law enforcement agencies don't know them, so they're certainly going to be treated differently there.

"We think it's important for them to get back home, because they're starting to bite off a little more than they can chew. Our concern is that they could get themselves hemmed up in something that they ... We just don't want them to get hurt."

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