CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Five people now face felony charges for aiding in the escape of an inmate from Duval County.
Two individuals are still at large.
The escape occurred early Friday morning. Soon, more than 100 officers from county, state, and federal agencies descended on San Diego in search of Andres Tunchez.
Duval County Sheriff Romeo Ramirez stated that his department is still searching for two out of the five individuals accused of assisting Tunchez, and Ashlee Ann Garcia is also wanted.
"They did keep him comfortable while he was on the run by providing him food, water, and things like that," he said.
Police received a tip on Saturday from Jim Wells County Constable Jim Long that Tunchez was hiding in an abandoned house in Sandia. While law enforcement officers were monitoring the house, they observed Tunchez's cousin picking him up, prompting the decision to intervene.
"Conducted a felony stop on the vehicle and had positive if of our suspect," said Duval County Sgt. Lucas Wallek.
On Friday, more than 100 law enforcement officers conducted a street-by-street search in San Diego. DPS (Department of Public Safety) personnel were involved in both aerial and ground searches for Tunchez.
US Marshals participated in the manhunt, but it was a bloodhound brought in from the state prison in Edinburg that successfully sniffed out and discovered items left behind by Tunchez during his escape.
The dog discovered a pair of handcuffs that Tunchez had managed to slip out of, along with his jailhouse sweatshirt. Ramirez expressed gratitude to all the agencies for their assistance and mentioned his intention to pursue the repair of the jail's security gates, which neither functioned properly nor hindered Tunchez's escape.
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