Inmate escapes South Lake Tahoe jail custody, remains wanted after all-night search
An inmate at the South Lake Tahoe jail escaped from custody Tuesday evening and remains wanted as of Wednesday, authorities said.
The inmate, 38-year-old Ruben Zavala Garcia, escaped around 6:30 p.m., the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
“Garcia escaped while performing supervised inmate worker duties outside of the jail facility,” sheriff’s officials wrote.
Garcia was in custody while facing charges including domestic violence, restraining order violation, false imprisonment, burglary and probation violation, the news release said. He was being held in lieu of bail and had not been convicted or sentenced.
Deputies searched the South Lake Tahoe area but did not locate Garcia after an “all-night” search, according to the news release. The alleged victim in Garcia’s domestic violence criminal case has been notified of the escape.
Garcia remains at large as of midday Wednesday. He is described as 5-foot-11, approximately 170 pounds, with tattooed forearms. He was last seen wearing a khaki jail-issued uniform with a short-sleeved shirt and long pants.
Anyone with information on the escapee’s whereabouts is asked to contact sheriff’s dispatch at 530-621-6600.
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 11:58 AM.
