Suspected illegal immigrant detained

July 15, 2008 - 10:42 p.m.

CUERO – The DeWitt County Sheriff’s Office detained one suspected illegal immigrant and about 15 others fled on foot Tuesday morning off state Highway 72, five miles west of Yorktown.

The pursuit began at 10:21 a.m. when Chief Deputy John Oglesby attempted a traffic stop on a 1997 Ford F-250 pickup for a traffic violation, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The vehicle accelerated for several miles through Nordheim until it left the roadway, crashing through a barbed wire fence and coming to rest about 150 yards later on private property.

Those in the back of the truck were under a snap-on tarp that they flung back when the truck stopped allowing them to flee.

Oglesby detained one woman carrying an identification card from Mexico. She was held until released to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Deputies looked for those who fled for about an hour and a half before giving up the search.

They went back to the area several times during the course of the day to see if those on foot could be spotted.

This brings the number of vehicle chases involving suspected illegal immigrants in DeWitt County to 11 in the past four months, according to the news release.