Search for missing suspect in Atascosa County ends, officials say

Several streets had been closed off

ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas – A multi-agency search for an aggravated robbery suspect out of Pleasanton has ended without the man in custody, officials said early Tuesday.

Previously deputies had been checking people's IDs and searching the trunks of vehicles. Deputies had lined Highway 16, as well as two streets perpendicular to the highway as part of the search.

The incident began around 4 p.m. Monday when agents with the Department of Homeland Security stopped a stolen pickup truck with five people inside it before they all jumped out and ran. Four of the five men were eventually caught, officials said.

Officials said that law enforcement officers will continue to patrol the area.

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(Original Story)

A large multiagency manhunt was underway in Atascosa County late Monday.

Several streets near Highway 16 were closed off as law enforcement officers searched for one of five men who has run from them.

Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward said around 4 p.m. agents with the Department of Homeland Security stopped a stolen pickup truck with five people inside it, and they all jumped out and ran away.

Four of the men were caught and Soward said three of them were in the country illegally.  

He said the last person they're looking for is wanted for an aggravated robbery in Pleasanton.

“The subject we're looking for is a wanted felon,” Soward said. “He's known to be armed and dangerous and he's out here on the loose and it takes a number of officers to contain an area this size to try to keep him from leaving this area, where we can find him and apprehend him."

Soward said they are searching a wooded area that covers about 80 to 100 acres.

Deputies checked people's IDs and searched the trunks of cars before letting neighbors onto their own street.

While above a helicopter kept an eye down below.

Deputies also lined Highway 16, as well as two streets perpendicular to the highway.

The sheriff has called in another Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter, which has heat sensors and is able to detect people in large areas.


About the Authors

Courtney Friedman anchors KSAT’s weekend evening shows and reports during the week. Her ongoing Loving in Fear series confronts Bexar County’s domestic violence epidemic. She joined KSAT in 2014 and is proud to call the SA and South Texas community home. She came to San Antonio from KYTX CBS 19 in Tyler, where she also anchored & reported.

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.

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