An inmate’s bid for a brief break from a Fort Worth laundry shift did not last long this afternoon. Authorities say he left a work detail at a laundry site in an industrial stretch of the city before deputies tracked him down and returned him to custody later the same day. The walk-off came less than 48 hours after another Tarrant County inmate escaped during a transport, prompting extra help from nearby agencies.
According to CBS News Texas, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said the inmate “walked away” from a work detail at a laundry facility at 5400 Resource Drive and was later taken back into custody. The outlet reported the sheriff’s office had not released the individual’s name and described the case as developing. The incident follows Monday’s transport escape, when an inmate ran from a transfer van near the 4600 block of Mark IV Parkway and was captured a short time later, NBC 5 Dallas‑Fort Worth reported.
How the County’s Labor Detail Works
Tarrant County operates a Labor Detail program that assigns qualifying misdemeanor participants to supervised jobs, including laundry and grounds work, as an alternative to jail. The Sheriff’s Office posts participant rules and runs the program out of a Cold Springs location at 1813 Cold Springs Road, Tarrant County says. The program requires timely reporting and staff supervision, a model county officials say helps both participants and local agencies.
Two Escapes in Two Days
The back-to-back incidents have put a spotlight on inmate transport and off-site work assignments, with deputies and partner agencies responding quickly to both scenes. In Monday’s transport case, multiple law-enforcement agencies, including Fort Worth police and federal postal inspectors, assisted in locating the escaped person and returning him to custody, NBC 5 Dallas‑Fort Worth reported. The sheriff’s office told CBS News Texas it was investigating the circumstances of the most recent walk-away and had not released further details…