Stolen Vehicle Linked To Vestal Fire

Authorities say a vehicle reported taken from a Vestal car dealership damaged by fire has been found in Bradford County.

Investigators say 32-year-old Christopher Stoudt of Towanda has been charged with receiving stolen property, a felony. He was being held in Bradford County jail.

Police had received a call to check on the welfare of a man who may have jumped from a vehicle on Route 17 near the Broome-Tioga county line. The man was identified as Stoudt.

Although Stoudt was not located by Vestal police officers or Tioga County sheriff's deputies, he later was found by Towanda police with the stolen vehicle at his home.

A license plate on the vehicle was stolen from the neighborhood near All-Star Auto on the Vestal Parkway West, where a fire was reported early Sunday morning.

Vestal police and Broome County fire investigators are looking into the car dealership blaze.

Police say charges against Stoudt related to the burglary and fire are pending.