EVIDENCE FROM CRIME SPREE POINTS TO TEEN PAIR

WHITEWATER, Mo. -- A pair of teen-age boys accused of burgarlizing at least three rural homes, wrecking two cars and possibly stealing 20 guns in a spree that started Tuesday night are still being sought by law enforcement officers.

The boys, residents of Sikeston, Mo., had taken a car registered to one of them and drove to County Road 253 near Route N in Cape Girardeau County, said Lt. David James of the sheriff's department.

"They were out to do burglaries," he said.

A deputy first responded to a reported burglary Tuesday evening in which 20 guns were taken from a residence along the road.

But it wasn't until another burglary was reported about 3 a.m. Wednesday that investigators discovered the extent of the spree. Three houses within a few miles of each other had been burglarized early Wednesday.

These burglaries started after the suspects wrecked their car, James said.

After leaving their vehicle behind, the burglars broke into a red Mitsubishi Eclipse parked in a driveway and attempted to steal the car. But they didn't get far, James said.

"They basically crashed it off the road into a ditch," he said.

Their second crash didn't faze them, James said. Continuing up the road on foot, they found two others houses where small items, including a cellular phone and a television, were taken.

Breaking in through the garage at one home, a red Ford F-150 pickup was stolen along with checks.

About 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the suspects stopped at a convenience store in Advance, Mo., and successfully cashed one of the stolen checks for a small amount of money.

The two continued in the truck to Poplar Bluff, Mo. About 8:30 a.m. they attempted to cash another check at Walmart in Poplar Bluff, but were unsuccessful.

This was the last time the teen-agers were sighted, James said.