A manhunt led to heightened security at some Warren County School District schools on Tuesday.
Superintendent Brandon Hufnagel said law enforcement was looking for escaped juveniles from a detention center in Mercer County, who apparently traveled to the Sheffield/Clarendon area.
As a result, he said the district asked those at Warren Area Elementary Center, Warren Area High School and Beaty-Warren Middle School to keep doors locked and make sure they were closed.
In addition, Hufnagel said the schools which had students in them were provided with a description of the suspects.
"It was just for safety," Hufnagel said. "We just wanted to make sure kids were safe in the buildings while it was going on."
As of Wednesday morning, Hufnagel said the search was still going on. He noted most of the activity was in the Clarendon and Sheffield area.
Police reported that three male suspects a 16-year-old from Sheffield, a 16-year-old from Slippery Rock and a 17-year-old from Prospentz, Pa. were in possession of a 1994 Chevrolet Blazer that crashed on Chapman Dam Road. The suspects fled the scene of the crash and state police conducted a search of the area without results.
The suspects fled the scene following the crash, police said, and a search which included Warren-based state police, Warren City Police, Sheffield Township Police and Warren County Sheriff's Department did not locate them.
Anyone with information is asked to contact state police or Crimestoppers.
Police provided no additional information on the juveniles.
The search for the juveniles and report of a shooting in the area led to rampant rumors in the area that the two incidents were related.
The death of a 54-year-old man in Pleasant Township was not related to the theft and crash of the stolen vehicle on Chapman Dam Road or the runaways, state police said.
State police were called to a residence off Buecher School Lane in Pleasant Township on Tuesday afternoon after a unidentified 54-year-old male was found deceased from an apparent gunshot wound.
No foul play is suspected and the investigation is ongoing, police said.