Sheriff's deputies are in the area of Slusser and MacCumber roads, Oakfield, where one subject is in custody and deputies are looking for a second person who may be in the area with the intent to steal a car.
A deputy originally spotted a person walking on Slusser Road, and when the deputy attempted to make contact with that individual, he ran into a field.
The deputy chased him down and after being taken into custody, the individual apparently told the deputy he and a friend had a car break down so they were in the area looking for a car to steal.
The subject still at large is described as a Mexican male. His friend said he will try to run if he sees law enforcement.
UPDATE 12:46 p.m.: The search continues. The individual taken into custody has apparently been evasive in his answers at times, but he apparently said that he and his buddy -- they live in the Oak Orchard area of Elba -- have been out of work for three months and were out looking for work when their truck broke down.
UPDATE 1:56 p.m: The search seems to have moved to an area of Oak Orchard Road where the second subject is believed to reside. At the scene of the original call, Deputy Brian Thompson said the call started when area residents reported a Mexican male, not wearing any shoes, walking house-to-house. A woman at one house gave the man some water and called the Sheriff's Office. That's where Deputy Thompson first saw the man, who started to run. Deputy Thompson deployed his K-9, who quickly helped detain the man.
Deputy Thompson said the common method for daytime house burglars is to not wear shoes, minimizing footprints. He said he thinks the jobless men were out looking for food.
Immigration Control and Enforcement officers were on scene. But the subject detained is not believed to be in the country legally.
Thompson said in his 19 years with the Sheriff's Office, he hasn't known too many migrant workers to get involved in petty crimes, but with the crack down on farmers hiring undocumented workers, it's getting harder for those without papers to find work.
