The owner of an area towing company spooks a couple of thieves who were hiding in their getaway van.

Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan tells KSAL News that on Sunday afternoon, Roy Palmer was checking on some of his equipment at a storage lot for Palmer Towing on Millennium Way near Bavaria.

Deputies say he noticed a car on its side and then discovered the catalytic converter had been cut off. Four other vehicles were also damaged by the thieves before they started the engine on the van they were hiding in and drove away.

Authorities say a man and woman were in a brown, van with Nebraska plates that has a #22 county designation. The white male has a beard and the white woman was wearing eyeglasses.

Upon further investigation, authorities also discovered a wider crime – that over $57,000 in special tools and welding equipment was missing from a storage container owned by Lynn Sickler.

The case remains under investigation.