Three men fled Border Patrol after a Florida Keys traffic stop, agency said
Three men fled U.S. Border Patrol agents, Monroe County sheriff’s deputies and state police after a traffic stop in the Florida Keys Wednesday morning, prompting a large search that lasted into the day, authorities said.
Two of the men were caught in the morning, said Adam Hoffner, assistant chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s Miami sector. Both are Guatemalan nationals illegally living in the United States, said Hoffner.
The other man had not been found as of Wednesday night.
“The investigation remains open,” Hoffner said in an email to the Herald.
The two men who were caught are being turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and processed for removal from the country, Hoffner said.
The traffic stop happened near Big Pine Key in the Lower Keys. The Border Patrol said it conducted the stop with support from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, but did not detail why they stopped the vehicle.
Witnesses describe a chaotic situation on U.S. 1 and the Seven Mile Bridge in the morning, with sheriff’s deputies, Florida Highway Patrol troopers and state fish and wildlife police rushing to Big Pine Key to look for the escapees.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 9:56 AM.
