Linn County sheriff’s deputies and Corvallis police stopped a Ford Explorer with a spike strip Monday morning, believing the vehicle was stolen but later learning that it wasn’t.

According to the sheriff’s office, here’s what happened:

A deputy saw the Explorer on Highway 34, checked the license plate and discovered that it had been reported stolen in Portland. The deputy followed the vehicle and was joined by other deputies and Corvallis police.

At the Highway 34 bypass, at about the time the sheriff’s office was about to stop the Explorer with lights and sirens, Corvallis police put out a spike strip that flattened a tire and stopped the Explorer. The two men inside were arrested and taken to the Linn County Jail.

While en route, deputies learned that the Explorer’s previous owner had reported it stolen after it was repossessed in early September. The vehicle had since been legitimately purchased by the man driving it Monday morning. The sheriff’s office replaced the damaged tire and took the men back to the Explorer.