Alaska State Troopers are searching for two women accused of attempting to steal a truck at a gas station in Sterling on Christmas Eve, according to a Jan. 2 affidavit filed at the Kenai Courthouse.

Search warrants have been issued for Janelle Haddock, 32, of Seward, and Victoria Piro, 21, of Seward, after the two were identified as the suspects of an attempted car theft at Big John’s gas station in Sterling on Dec. 24, according to court documents.

On the night of the incident, troopers arrived at the scene and interviewed three witnesses, one of whom was the owner of a Ford truck that the two women allegedly tried to steal before leaving the scene in their own vehicle. According to the witnesses, two women arrived at the gas station in a light grey Mazda CX3, and one of them exited the Mazda to attempt to steal the Ford truck. One of the witnesses chased down the truck and got into the cab, which caused the car thief to leave the truck and get back in the SUV.

A trooper who was on his way to the gas station saw the two women driving northbound on the Sterling Highway that night, but was unable to follow them after they turned down a side road, according to the affidavit.

After searching the license plate number of the grey Mazda, troopers showed pictures of the vehicle owners — Haddock and Piro — to the witnesses, who confirmed that those two women had attempted to steal the truck, according to court documents.

Troopers requested arrest warrants for Piro and Haddock on Jan. 2, citing that the two had avoided multiple attempted contacts with troopers and had refused to meet or return phone calls. The warrants were granted by Magistrate Kimberly Sweet on Jan. 4.

Both Piro and Haddock face one charge of first-degree vehicle theft, a Class C felony.

Reach reporter Brian Mazurek at bmazurek@peninsulaclarion.com.