MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – An all-out search continued Friday for a detainee who escaped the Krome Detention Center in far west Miami-Dade.
A Homeland Security Black Hawk helicopter was seen searching the swamp Thursday surrounding the Krome Detention Center.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a man escaped from the facility on Wednesday night.
The center, located near the corner of Southwest Eighth Street and Krome Avenue, typically houses migrants scheduled to be removed from the country.
Sonia Gonzalez, owner of The Pit Bar-B-Q, located in the search area, described the scene, saying, “A lot of police presence, just coming in and out constantly throughout the whole day and in the vending hours as well.”
While federal agents have not disclosed the identity of the escaped man or whether he poses a danger, authorities are taking the search seriously, setting up a massive command center off Tamiami Trail.
“They did describe him,” Gonzalez said. “They told us it was a short gentleman, Latin, dark hair.”
Drones were deployed as part of the search effort and on the ground, crews used bloodhounds to try and pick up a scent in the nearby marshes.
“They did come into the restaurant, they checked out the customers to make sure they didn’t find any strange person inside,” Gonzalez said.
ATVs and airboats were also brought in at one point, but despite the large-scale search, there has been no sign of the escaped detainee so far.