An inmate who escaped custody during a layover at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday remains on the run, according to authorities.
Tyler James Martinez, 31, was being transported from Los Angeles to Brown County, Wisconsin, where he faces drug charges, when he escaped a transportation officer with the contracted service REDI Transports, hired by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin.
Martinez made his escape when the transport officer went to get food for the inmate during a layover from LA to Wisconsin’s Appleton International Airport, from which he would have been transported to the Brown County Jail. Martinez had multiple arrest warrants out from Brown County, including bail jumping, possession of cocaine, methamphetamine, narcotic drugs, a stolen car, failure to appear in court, and criminal damage to property. All were extraditable charges, the sheriff’s office said, according to Fox News.
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Video surveillance showed Martinez freeing one of his hands prior to his escape, and he was last seen boarding a rental shuttle bus and wearing a gray sweatshirt, dark gray or black pants, and dark tennis shoes without laces, authorities said. A manhunt for Martinez is underway.
Due to Martinez’s escape, Brown County Sheriff Todd Delain said the office has suspended its services with REDI Transports pending an investigation. Brown County has been using REDI Transports since 2007.
“The breach of secure custody during this transport violates the standards of service expected by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office. As a result, Sheriff Delain has immediately suspended the use of REDI Transports for nationwide extraditions,” the sheriff’s office said.
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Martinez’s escape was not the first time the company messed up a transportation. In 2020, Leon Taylor escaped during a fast-food stop as he was being transported from Indiana to Illinois. Taylor was later apprehended, according to Wisconsin news outlet WBAY.
