BELL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — At 11:20 a.m. Thursday, a juvenile supervision officer at the Bell County Juvenile Detention Center observed two individuals observing a fence and escaping the facility.
The Killeen Police Department, Bell County Sheriff's Office, and Texas Department of Public Safety quickly assembled all tools, and by 2 p.m., both juveniles were back in custody.
"This was an unfortunate event, but based on our preliminary investigation, it appears that our staff followed protocol appropriately," said Dawn Owens, the county's Chief Juvenile Probation Officer.
"We are extremely thankful for the prompt response of our partner agencies in locating and apprehending the two youths."
After the two juveniles escaped, an officer immediately radioed in the incident, and detention center staff quickly alerted KPD.
A perimeter was set up around the facility, a DPS helicopter was dispatched, and K-9 units were deployed to assist in the search.
"Like with any critical incident, we will conduct a thorough review of this event in the coming days to evaluate our response and training procedures to ensure the safety of our staff and residents moving forward," Owens said.
Bell County Juvenile Services reported the incident to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) early this afternoon, as required by standard.
