West Virginia jail escapee found in Texas trying to cross Rio Grande into Mexico

A West Virginia inmate whose escape from jail went unnoticed for nearly two days almost made it across the Mexican border.  Todd Wayne Boyes was nabbed early Sunday morning in Laredo, Texas, as he tried to cross the Rio Grande River into Mexico.  The capture of the 43-year-old from Caldwell, Ohio, came after a 36-hour manhunt.  Boyes somehow bolted from South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, West Virginia, early in the morning on Wednesday, Oct. 25, the day he was suppoed to get sentenced for his conviction for fleeing from police and causing bodily injury and possession of a stolen car. He faced 3 to 20 years in prison.

Authorities are investigating how the bespectacled Boyes apparently managed to ditch his inmate jumpsuit for khakis, white sneakers and zip-up jacket and walk out of the jail at around 5:50 a.m. on Oct. 25, according to the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. State police say they were not notified of his escape until 43 hours later, at around 12:30 a.m. Friday.  Despite three formal, end-of-shift head counts, none were able to pinpoint Boyes' disappearance, Lawrence Messina, a spokesman for the public safety department, said in a statement.  The jail discovered he was missing in head count at 7 p.m. Thursday, according to ABC News affiliate WCHS in Charleston. Afterard, a review of the facility's security video yielded footage of Boyes leaving the facility the previous morning.