A California inmate who was captured in Mexico after escaping from a prison camp is on the run again.
Miguel Banuelos, 49, was initially reported as missing on July 4 when he left the Washington Ridge Conservation Camp near Lake Tahoe.
Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) began a search of the premises and nearby area, but he was nowhere to be found.
He remained on the run for two days before he was captured by Mexican authorities at a home in Tijuana, Mexico.
Miguel Banuelos, 49, is wanted after escaping from a prison camp near Lake Tahoe in Nevada County, California in July 2026. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
At the time, officials did not provide details on how Banuelos made the 600-mile journey from the prison camp to Tijuana.
CDCR officials said Banuelos was expected to appear before an immigration judge before being processed through a port of entry and returned to a CDCR institution. But instead, he was released by a Mexican magistrate on July 10.
On July 16, authorities are still searching for Banuelos and have issued a warrant for his arrest. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 189 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison in San Diego County on July 23, 2025, for the transportation or sale of a controlled substance and the possession or purchase of heroin/cocaine exceeding four kilograms.
He was later transferred to the Nevada County camp and was scheduled to be released on April 20, 2028.
CDCR said that 99 percent of the people who have escaped or walked away from an adult institution, camp, in-state contract bed or community-based program placement have been apprehended.
Anyone who sees Banuelos or knows his whereabouts should call 911, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office at 530-265-1471 or OCS Special Agent Tim Keeney at 916-210-9159.
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