A previously deported illegal immigrant from Honduras was caught Sunday after an extensive manhunt in Indiana after being identified as a person of interest in the random stabbing of an adolescent girl at a baseball game.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office launched a manhunt for Dimas Gabriel Yanez, 26, on Saturday after a 14-year-old girl was stabbed in the hand with a butcher-style knife while attending her brother’s baseball game in rural Lowell, Indiana.
When the girl’s mother tried to aid, the suspect attempted to stab her before leaving, according to authorities. The teenager has subsequently been treated and released from the hospital.
Authorities discovered a knife thought to have been used in the attack and identified Yanez as a person of interest, cautioning the public that he is armed and dangerous.
As the intensive search continued into Sunday, the sheriff’s office reported that Yanez had been located in the southern section of Lake County.
Yanez was captured later Sunday afternoon after a sheriff’s deputy noticed him fleeing through a cornfield, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators suspect Yanez was attempting to cut his hair to disguise his look and elude law enforcement moments before being captured.
According to the sheriff’s office, Yanez was deported to Honduras in 2018 and “may have been engaged in criminal activity across the United States since returning to the country illegally.”
The sheriff’s office reported Yanez’s arrest to the US Department of Homeland Security on Sunday.
“I would like to extend my most heartfelt gratitude to every Lake County police officer and to all law enforcement agencies working tirelessly on the investigation and search in this case,” the sheriff, Oscar Martinez Jr., stated. “I am proud of the level of cooperation exhibited by police officers throughout the county.”
Yanez is still in jail at the Lake County Jail. No information on whether Yanez is facing any charges was immediately available.
The sheriff’s office stated that the investigation is ongoing and that additional information will be shared when it becomes available.
