Two would-be car thieves who tried to strip a car in Maple Valley led sheriff’s deputies on a chase down State Route 169, which ended when their vehicle crashed into the office of the Riviera Apartments.

The chase started at about 4 a.m. Thursday in the 26300 block of Southeast 242nd Street in Maple Valley after a witness called police to report someone stripping a car, according to Sgt. Cindi West with the King County Sheriff’s Office.

In Renton the car with deputies in pursuit veered off SR 169 just before the Renton Community Center and its intersection with I-405, launched over a three-foot wall and came to rest inside the apartment complex’s office.

The man jumped from the car and ran into the Cedar River, where he was tracked by a Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit.

“He could stay there and freeze or he could come out,” said West. “He chose to come out.”

The woman, who also got out of the car, was tracked down by a Renton Police Department K-9.

Both were arrested for investigation of eluding police.

Deputies sealed off the car and impounded it after spotting what possibly was stolen property, West said.