Woman Seen Driving Away in Sheriff's Vehicle Reported Dead, Texas Rangers are Investigating

OZONA, TX — The Texas Rangers are investigating the incident others have said led to the death of a young woman, the Texas DPS confirmed this afternoon. She was witnessed driving away in an SUV owned by the Crockett County Sheriff’s Office.

Yesterday at approximately 10 a.m., eyewitnesses told us that a woman had stolen a marked SUV cruiser from the Crockett County Sheriff’s Office. A video was supplied showing the woman driving off in the police vehicle.

WATCH (Warning: Language)

Yesterday, a woman saying she was the concerned stepmother of Ashtyn Kugle called us from Abilene. “I think my daughter stole a cop car in Ozona,” she said. “I don’t know if she is dead or alive.” The stepmother’s name is Charlene Kugle.

Kugle called again this morning and confirmed that the family was notified Ashtyn was dead and her body was sent to Lubbock for an autopsy.

Charlene said Ashtyn, who is only 19, just completed a prison sentence in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. “She was in a halfway house in Midland,” Charlene told us. “That’s probably how she’s down there in Ozona.”

The Crockett County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Robert "Bob" Rodriguez have not made a public comment about the incident. The Texas Rangers said nothing else will be released until the end of the investigation.