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HomeNewsArchivesRumor of Prisoner Escape Totally Unfounded, Police Say

Rumor of Prisoner Escape Totally Unfounded, Police Say

St. Croix Police flatly denied rumors Wednesday that a murder suspect arrested Tuesday had escaped and was being sought across the west end of St. Croix.
"It’s absolutely not true," said Public Information Officer Melody Rames. "It’s a very bad rumor that’s going around; I’ve heard it all afternoon, but it’s not true. Edwin Encarnacion [the fugitive murder suspect captured Tuesday] is still in custody."
When asked about the helicopters hovering over the west end all afternoon, Rames said it was "a routine operation."
Pressed on whether it was one of the department’s periodic marijuana detection overflights, Rames failed to elaborate, and simply repeated, "It was a routine operation."
Encarnacion had been sought by police since becoming a suspect in the Aug. 14 homicide of Jorge Parrillo. Tuesday he was spotted in Estate Campo Rico and police tracked him to an unoccupied home in Estate La Grange, where helicopters were involved in the search effort that ended with his capture.
So when the helicopters returned Wednesday, some residents apparently figured they were searching for a suspect again.

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