Border Patrol detainee escapes in Louisiana, one recaptured

Border Patrol agents stopped a vehicle on eastbound Interstate 12 at the Tangipahoa‑St. Tammany parish line on Monday, detaining three Hispanic men. The driver and front‑seat passenger fled the scene barefoot and handcuffed, heading in opposite directions.

The 26‑year‑old suspect, Eduin Gonzalez Avilez of Honduras, was located later that afternoon in the woods behind the Bedico Creek Trailer Park in Tangipahoa Parish and taken back into custody. The second suspect, identified as 31‑year‑old Cesar Contreras (also reported as Elvin Martinez), remains missing. He was last seen north of I‑12 in the Robert‑Hammond area, possibly in St. Tammany Parish, wearing a camouflage shirt, blue jeans, no shoes and still handcuffed. The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office and Border Patrol continue the search for the escaped detainee.