Escaped Inmate Wanted Nationwide And His Girlfriend Arrested Near Jay

August 23, 2013

An Arkansas escapee that was the subject of a nationwide manhunt has been arrested near Chumuckla Elementary School.

Derrick Estell, 33, escaped from the Garland County Detention Center in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office and a U.S. Marshals Task Force took Estell and his girlfriend, 25-year old Tamara Lynn Upshaw, into custody late Thursday night at an abandoned house near the intersection of Highway 182 and Chumuckla Highway.

They are being held in the Santa Rosa County Jail awaiting extradition back to Arkansas.

According to the Garland County (AR) Sheriff’s Office, investigators were able to pinpoint the couple’s location with the assistance of “cooperating individuals” and contact authorities in Santa Rosa County. Within a few hours, the couple was in custody.

Estell had escaped the Arkansas jail on July 28 with the assistance of Upshaw and others after returning from the Arkansas Department of Corrections for a court appearance. He made his getaway by diving out of a window and running to a waiting vehicle.  Two other individuals were also taken into custody for their involvement in the escape and are awaiting court hearings, Arkansas authorities said.

Estell was being held on  charged of aggravated robbery, burglary, theft and other charges.

Comments

13 Responses to “Escaped Inmate Wanted Nationwide And His Girlfriend Arrested Near Jay”

  1. A mommy of 4 on August 26th, 2013 3:19 pm

    Way to close for comfort. My kids go to that school. Things definitely could have gone WAY BAD!!! I can’t even imagine if something were to happen with my kids in school.

  2. Chumuckla Indian on August 24th, 2013 1:56 pm

    Maybe they can ride on a float in the Red Neck Parade.

  3. Duke of Wawbeek on August 24th, 2013 11:34 am

    Did they offer any explanation as to what drew them to the Jay community of all places?

    A nice community, but I would think that Mexico would have been far more practical considering the couples current state of affairs.

  4. Mary on August 24th, 2013 11:26 am

    Did these people really think they would not be noticed in Chumuckla? REALLY? Talk about dumbest criminals!

  5. Otto on August 24th, 2013 6:01 am

    Well, I guess she will have a few years in prison to ponder if he was worth it all…

  6. Jane on August 24th, 2013 4:58 am

    The fact that they were near an elementary school is scary…things could have gone bad in a hurry ………Good job LEOs!

  7. Crystal McDonald on August 23rd, 2013 11:04 pm

    I wonder how bad CNN will mos pronounce Chamuckla….heck I cant even spell it.

  8. Mandy on August 23rd, 2013 9:50 pm

    @Walker… they were from Arkansas…… they took a wrong turn and thought they were still there. J/K LOL :-)

  9. paul on August 23rd, 2013 5:13 pm

    They were too scared to go to P’Cola..

  10. me3tv on August 23rd, 2013 4:46 pm

    Holy cow. I’ve been getting a truck fixed only yards from where these people were holed up. Well, I know the local guys will fill me in with all the juicy details. This kind of thing makes for great movie scripts – taken from tales told around the garage.

  11. Walker on August 23rd, 2013 4:04 pm

    Of all places, Chumuckla ? That is crazy. Thank goodness they were found.

  12. well on August 23rd, 2013 12:35 pm

    Good job.

  13. Keith on August 23rd, 2013 11:52 am

    We saw the escape video on the National News and they end up here. Wow.