August 28, 2019 800 PM
ALPINE — Back in July, a West Virginia man spent the day with his biological daughter as part of a court-ordered visitation. But one day turned into a weeklong unauthorized vacation, and then the pair vanished.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert for the 4-year-old child, describing her as in “extreme danger.” About two weeks later, they found the runaway family in Pecos, Texas.
Cases like these, the U.S. Marshals Service says, are why it’s deputizing local Texas law enforcement into its ranks.
On Wednesday, in Alpine, the agency welcomed six deputies from Pecos County Sheriff’s Office into its Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, formed in 2005 to help local cops and deputies pursue and arrest what the agency calls “the most dangerous fugitives in Texas.”
The agency hopes to expand the program further in West Texas, where counties are often large and law enforcement resources sometimes thin.
It isn’t just runaway dads, either, the agency says. Murderers, child molesters and prison escapees are some of the other people who end up on the lam — and then on the agency’s radar.
On-the-lam criminals represent a unique challenge for local law enforcement, who often do not have jurisdiction beyond the limits of the city or county in which they serve.
The arrangement comes with trade-offs for local cops and deputies. On one hand, deputized law enforcement officers report directly to the U.S. Marshals Service while remaining on the payroll of the local agency, said Chris Bozeman, a spokesman for the agency’s Western District of Texas.
On the other hand, local law enforcement agencies get federal agencies on staff, who have broader powers and “tactical training.”
Bozeman said he could not elaborate on the details of that training. And while the agency works with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and does sometimes go after undocumented immigrants, Bozeman said that is “not the main focus.”
