CHICAGO (NBC 26) — A man under arrest who was wanted for several warrants in Brown County escaped custody while inside the Chicago O’Hare Airport, local authorities said.
The Brown County Sheriff's Office said it was notified by REDI Transports of Green Bay that arrestee Tyler James Martinez had escaped their custody Tuesday while at the Chicago O’Hare Airport.
Martinez had several extraditable Brown County arrest warrants, the sheriff's office said, connected to drug and weapon charges. Martinez is also suspected of auto theft and burglarizing storage units.
Martinez had been arrested in California and was held at the Los Angeles County Jail awaiting extradition. REDI Transports, a contracted service for the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and many other law enforcement agencies, was contacted to retrieve Martinez from the Los Angeles County Jail and deliver him to the Brown County Jail.
Martinez was transported wearing handcuffs. The REDI Transports officer and Martinez flew from Los Angeles to Chicago O’Hare where they awaited a connecting flight to the Appleton airport. Brown County Sheriff's Office said the transporting officer, while getting food for the arrestee, turned his attention away from Martinez who then ran away.
The transport officer contacted the Chicago Police Department at the airport to report the escape. Officers were unable to locate Martinez inside the airport. In follow-up efforts to find Martinez, Chicago Police Department officers viewed surveillance video which showed Martinez had slipped at least one of the handcuffs and was last seen fleeing the airport boarding a car rental shuttle bus.
The sheriff's office said Martinez was wearing the clothes he was wearing when he was arrested, which was a light grey sweatshirt, dark grey or black sweatpants and dark-colored tennis shoes with the laces removed.
Currently, Tyler James Martinez is at large. The sheriff's office doesn't believe he's armed. He did not have any money or means of communication on his person when he escaped in Chicago.
Martinez is 31 years old, 6’ 2” tall, and weighs 185 to 200 lbs., with brown hair and green eyes.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Tyler James Martinez should contact Brown County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Sergeant Marc Shield at 920-448-4404.
