Search underway for 2 who escaped from Tyler juvenile detention using welding equipment

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - A search has begun for two minors who escaped from Smith County’s juvenile detention center.

The center is located on Morningside Drive in Tyler. According to law enforcement officials, the two juveniles escaped the center by scaling a fence. Several law enforcement agencies are assisting in the search for the escapees.

According to Ross Worley, director and chief probation officer of Smith County Juvenile Services, the escapees are 16-year-old males who were in the H.O.P.E Academy Vocational Residential Program in the welding shop when they escaped. They ran from the shop, scaled the fence using welding gloves and welding jackets. The equipment allowed them to defeat the security wire on the fence, he said.

The two boys were on probation for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, Worley said. The public is not believed to be in any danger at this time. If you have any information as to the location of these two juveniles, he asks that you call 911 or your local law enforcement agency.

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