HOQUIAM, Wash. -- Police found a hatchet and saw marks on a power pole after they interrupted an attempted theft of wire near a power substation in Hoquiam Wednesday night.

Officers spotted a woman in a car with pry bars and bolt cutters, and spoke with a man nearby. The man admitted that the two, along with a second man, had been trying to steal wire, police said in a news release.

A police K-9 tried to track down the missing man, but did not find him. The dog found bolt cutters, an ax and a large bow saw next to a power pole. Officers checked the Public Utilities District pole and saw an ax on top of a power box and saw marks in the side of the pole.

Police said the woman in the car was a lookout who was supposed to warn the two men over a two-way radio if police arrived.

Detectives are trying to locate the third suspect, who they said told the other two suspects that he had previously committed other wire thefts in the area.

The man and woman who were arrested will be charged with felony malicious mischief and interfering with a power system, police said.