Escaped Inmate Recaptured in Erwinville, Louisiana After Brief Manhunt

An escaped inmate, Randall Boyett, 23, is back in custody after fleeing from a transport van yesterday in Erwinville, Louisiana.

Authorities were alerted around 8:45 a.m. on October 6th when the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office reported Boyett missing during a transfer from their facility to the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel. Boyett was being transported for a conviction related to possession of methamphetamine, a charge that carries significant penalties under Louisiana drug laws. A search involving drones, a state police helicopter, and ground units was immediately launched.

Local residents assisted in the search, with one resident, Harry Tassin, reporting seeing detectives searching the neighborhood. “We started looking outside and I seen someone walking across the backyard here,” Tassin said. “Turns out, come to find out, it was a detective. He was just searching the neighborhood.” Authorities also requested and reviewed security camera footage from nearby businesses. The circumstances surrounding Boyett’s escape from the transport van remain under investigation.

“That we don’t know. we’re still looking into that, how he got out of the van,” said West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office public information officer Sgt. Landon Groger. The recapture of Boyett prevents further disruption to the community and ensures he will face sentencing for his original charge.

The investigation into the escape is ongoing, and authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward.