A car left on the side of the road after running out of gas was stolen then brought to junk yard for scrap.

Chief Deputy Shane Tucker said the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department got a call from Pullen’s Salvage about a suspicious pair of individuals attempting to sell a 2001 Ford Focus for scrap. An investigation into the matter lead to the arrest of 46 year-old Walter Dewayne Sanford and 42 year-old Christopher James Vice. Both charged with grand larceny auto.

When deputies went to respond to the call from Pullens they found the suspects had already left with the car. They were later found at Pearl River Recycling attempting to sell the car there.

Since the suspects could not provide deputies with a bill of sale for the vehicle investigators attempted to contact the owner of the car. Tucker said the victim told investigators that she recently noticed the car was stolen and had not sold it.

Apparently she ran out of gas on the interstate. When she returned a couple hours later she found the car missing, Tucker said.

Both Sanford, of 12 Sanford and Son Road, Carriere, and Vice, of 69 Broadridge Dr., Carriere, were charged with grand larceny auto, he said. Tucker said the Sheriff’s Department appreciates the tip from Pullens that lead to the arrest of the two suspects.