Teens in clown masks accused of abducting Utah girl as she was jogging

Washington County authorities Wednesday were weighing whether to charge three boys in connection with an alleged bizarre kidnapping in Santa Clara earlier this week.

Santa Clara Department of Public Safety Deputy Chief Ken Campbell said his officers had submitted felony kidnapping cases to the Washington County Attorney's Office against the three juvenile males.

The boys are accused of donning rubber clown masks Monday night and abducting a 14-year-old girl as she was jogging down a city street. Campbell said the boys allegedly grabbed the girl, put her unrestrained in the back of a locked covered pickup and drove off with her.

He said police were still investigating whether the girl knew the boys, but said they didn't attend the same school.

The girl managed to escape and remembered enough information about her alleged abductors that police were able to locate the vehicle and the boys, Campbell said.

"She was very resourceful," he said.

Campbell said police are not treating the incident as a childish prank and are taking the boy's actions very seriously.

"This goes way beyond a dumb joke," he said. "This is going to traumatize her for the rest of her life."

jstecklein@sltrib.com