Convicted felon Todd Wayne Boyes, 44, was captured by U.S. Border Patrol agents after trying to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico at Laredo, TX, on Sunday, Oct. 29, following his escape from South Central Jail in Charleston, WV. After a medical evaluation, Boyes was taken to the Webb County Jail, according to the information provided to our State Police.

Boyes is a non-Hispanic white male of fair complexion, 5-feet-6-inches tall and 220 lbs. The investigation indicates Boyes obtained khaki pants and a dark green or grey zip-up jacket which he wore to escape by posing as a civilian or trusty.

It is believed he exited the facility under this guise at around 5:50 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Three formal, end-of-shift head counts failed to alert jail staff to Boyes’ disappearance, as did two informal, overnight counts. The ongoing investigation is focused on whether the procedure for these counts was followed properly. The procedure involves the lockdown of inmates and the matching of inmates to booking and Offender Information System records, among other measures.

The formal head count conducted at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26 revealed that Boyes was missing. During the resulting investigation, a review of the facility’s security video yielded footage of Boyes leaving the facility the previous morning.

Officials at both the Regional Jail Authority and the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety consider the incident to be a grave and unacceptable breach of their core duty to protect their fellow West Virginians. We intend to address the episode and the results of the ongoing investigation with the utmost seriousness