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VERNAL — Two teens were arrested near an airport after investigators say they stole a small plane from a private airstrip in Uintah County and landed it at Vernal Regional Airport Thursday, authorities said.
Uintah County Sheriff's officials said the teen boys, a 14-year-old and 15-year-old, had left a group home somewhere in the Wasatch Front area earlier this week and had been staying with friends in the Jensen area.
On Thursday, the boys apparently drove a tractor to an airstrip in Jensen and then took a single-engine fixed-wing plane that belonged to a nearby resident, officials said. They apparently attempted to fly back toward the Wasatch Front, but eventually flew back toward Vernal, which is located roughly 12 miles northwest of Jensen, according to the sheriff's office.
One of the juveniles knew how to fly that style of plane, according to an emailed statement from the Uintah County Sheriff's office.
Authorities said the plane was observed flying “very low” along U.S. Highway 40 in Gusher, 32 miles west of Jensen, at one point.
Both boys were booked into the Split Mountain Youth Detention Center in Vernal in connection with the incident. Their names were not released because of their ages.
