Two men escaped Wednesday, Jan. 7, night while being transported from the Falfurrias checkpoint to a detention center in Robstown, prompting a six-hour search involving multiple law enforcement agencies in southern Jim Wells County.
The escape occurred at the intersection of Farm-to-Market 1930 and 1352, according to Jim Wells County Sheriff Joseph "Guy" Baker.
"What I know is that they were being transported from the Falfurrias checkpoint to the GEO detention facility and that's when the escape occurred," Baker said.
Multiple agencies worked together in an aerial and ground search to locate the two men. The search involved helicopters and officers combing through rural areas of the county.
Ryan Nock, who lives about a half mile from the intersection where the escape happened, noticed something was wrong when law enforcement flooded the area.
"I saw a cop car down by the road and there was a van in the ditch. I was like that looks kind of suspicious," Nock said.
He said a Border Patrol officer told Nock that two people had escaped during transport.
"I went down to the gate and a border patrol officer stopped and talked to me. He told me two people had escaped," Nock said.
With limited information initially available, Nock's main concern was keeping his property and family safe as agents searched along his property line, including around his barn.
"Stuff like that don't happen around here very out. It's relatively a safe area - you know," Nock said.
Both men were eventually captured after the six-hour search. Nock said once he received word that both suspects had been apprehended, he was finally able to get some sleep after expecting to be up all night.
Border Patrol has not responded to requests for more information about how the two men were able to escape during transport.
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