Search continues for inmate who escaped from Krome detention center

MIAMI DADE COUNTY, Florida. – An extensive search continued Friday for an inmate who escaped from the Krome Detention Center in far west Miami-Dade.

A Department of Homeland Security Black Hawk helicopter was seen searching the swamp surrounding the Krome Detention Center on Thursday.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a man escaped from the facility on Wednesday evening.

The center, located near the corner of Southwest Eighth Street and Krome Avenue, typically houses migrants who are scheduled to be deported from the country.

Sonia Gonzalez, owner of The Pit Bar-BQ in the search area, described the scene as “a heavy police presence that was constantly coming and going throughout the day and during sales hours.”

Although federal agents have not disclosed the identity of the escaped man or whether he poses a threat, authorities are taking the search seriously and have set up a huge command center off the Tamiami Trail.

“They described him,” Gonzalez said. “They told us he was a short gentleman, Latino, with dark hair.”

Drones were used as part of the search operation and on the ground the teams used bloodhounds to try to find a trail in the nearby swamps.

“They came into the restaurant and checked the guests to make sure they didn’t find any strangers inside,” Gonzalez said.

Off-road vehicles and hovercraft were also used at times, but despite the large-scale search operation, there is still no trace of the escaped prisoner.