A joint effort took place Monday, Aug. 3 to locate and arrest Trestin Nolte after he escaped from the Erath County Jail.
Within minutes of the escape, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies came together to locate Nolte, and he was recaptured about three hours later.
Nolte was originally arrested on a warrant and had a previous charge for escaping custody from Gatesville PD on his record. He was an inmate from Coryell County being held in Erath County Jail as part of an inter- agency agreement.
According to information released by Texas Game Wardens, Texas Game Warden K9 Lola, her handler and a pilot with the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program assisted in the search and location of Nolte.
Starting from the suspect’s discarded pants, Lola followed his scent for more than a mile, across streets, past businesses and down alleys, until they reached the Bosque River. She easily led her handler to the suspect on the other side of the river. He was subsequently taken back into custody peacefully by the Erath County Sheriff’s Office.
At this time, the means of escape is will not be shared by the ECSO as it is part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
“What can be shared is the sheer response and assistance from outside agencies,” Erath County Sheriff Matt Coates said. “Resources from over a dozen agencies including personnel, equipment, K9s, aircraft, etc. were on scene with even more agencies reaching out to lend a hand. Additionally, tips from the public and local businesses were used to assist in the search, Many times, events like these can stretch on for days if not weeks, but due to the swift response from multiple agencies this potentially dangerous circumstance was resolved quickly.”
The following agencies were involved in the search and apprehension: Erath County Sheriff’s Office, Erath County Constables, Erath County Emergency Management, Stephenville PD, Dublin PD, Tarleton PD, Texas DPS, DPS Criminal Investigation Division, Texas Rangers, DPS Special Response Team, Texas Game Wardens, Hood County Sheriff’s Office, Somervell County Sheriff’s Office, Coryell County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Board of Criminal Justice – OIG, Texas Department of Criminal Justice – CID and U.S. Marshals Service – North Texas Fugitive Taskforce.
Nolte received an additional charge of Escape, a Third Degree Felony.