Life changes pretty quickly and a pair of thieves in Kentucky learned that the hard way. One moment they thought they were getting away with stealing a tow truck. But things quickly went downhill as the pair fell off a cliff. 

Kentucky couple rescued after falling off cliff in stolen tow truck 

Police officers in Cumberland Falls, Kentucky were in for an entertaining shift as looking for a stolen tow truck quickly turned into extracting a couple that fell off a cliff. 

Around 9:30 PM, the Kentucky State Police received a tip that a wrecker that was stolen from Laurel County was parked near Cumberland Falls. 

A state park ranger spotted the vehicle in a parking space and approached to investigate. The suspects, 55-year-old Rex Vaughn and 40-year-old Thelma Travillian, were inside. Vaughn got spooked and drove away while ramming the park ranger’s truck. 

They led a police chase and made aggressive maneuvers in an attempt to strike officers and their patrol cars. Somehow, they managed to escape. According to Fox 56 News, the wrecker was later found abandoned in the woods. 

But the couple was missing! As police officers searched for the couple, they deployed thermal imaging drones and discovered that they had fallen off a cliff. Firefighters were called to assist with a high-angle recovery. 

The couple was taken to Corbin Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. They both face a long list of charges including possession of meth, receiving stolen property of $10,000 or more, evading police, endangerment of an officer, and more. 

This incident is currently part of an ongoing drug and theft investigation.