Officials search homes for jail escapee

BURNET COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - The day after a Burnet County Jail inmate escaped from the correctional complex Sunday night, officials resorted to searching homes in Burnet for the missing man.

Dogs on the ground and helicopters in the air have turned up nothing in the search for Nuana Antonio Fuentes-Sanchez, 24, who went missing Sunday around 10:30 p.m. after a routine bed count alerted officials of his disappearance.

Officials found blood on an exterior drain pipe, believe Fuentes-Sanchez climbed to the roof during recreation hours and lowered himself to freedom on the pipe.

He was being held on a $200,000 bond for charges of aggravated robbery in connection with a home invasion that happened April 14 in the Stone Mountain subdivision near Marble Falls.

Burnet County Sheriff W.T. Smith said he and all of his available staff members have been up all night searching county roads and the area around Granite Shoals, where officials arrested Fuentes-Sanchez and the other four people after the April home invasion.

"I'm pretty tired. I'm dragging," said Smith. "I've been up all night, too, driving the roads just like everyone else."

Smith said they are searching Granite Shoals and the surrounding area, because they felt Fuentes-Sanchez may have gone back where he has connections. The sheriff also said the escapee is considered dangerous.

"He is a threat," said Smith. "Anytime someone is attempting to escape recapture, they're willing to do anything."

An emergency notification via telephone went out at 8 a.m. Monday through the Burnet County system to alert residents in the area of the escape, but some neighbors in the area said they are concerned it took more than nine hours for the alert to go out.

Watch the sheriff's press conference shot on an iPhone below, where he describes that notification process:

 

"It made me think twice about how many guns I had in the house," said Burnet homeowner Dino Maisano.

The sheriff said the notification went out only after his team had thoroughly searched the 96,000 square foot facility twice, taking several hours.

Maisano lives in the neighborhood closest to the jail and said he is concerned that he was able to drive out of his subdivision Monday morning without a problem. He said his wife drives a 15-passenger van and was not slowed down by officers.

Investigators said they believe Fuentes-Sanchez wore orange jail pants, a white short-sleeved T-shirt, white socks and no shoes when he disappeared.

Fuentes-Sanchez is 5 feet 8 inches tall with a slender build and weighs 165 pounds. He has short, black hair and has a goatee. His bond is set at $400,000 for escape.

Fuentes-Sanchez is still at large. Joining in the manhunt are Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Department of Public Safety Air Support, Burnet Police Department, Marble Falls Police Department and Granite Shoals Police Department.

Meanwhile, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards will initiate an investigation in conjunction with the internal investigation by Southwestern Corrections regional warden regarding the escape.

The Burnet County Jail has been open since the past spring. Of the 587 beds in the facility, Burnet County uses 120 of them. The rest are contracted out to different divisions.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Burnet County Sheriff's Office at (512) 756-8080.