Manhunts across America in 2025: Five cases that left cities, campuses and towns on edge

Across the state this year, fugitives connected the tally turned quiescent neighborhoods, agrarian towns and assemblage campuses into transgression scenes. Five large manhunts, each chaotic successful its ain way, sent constabulary scrambling, triggered lockdowns and highlighted however rapidly suspects tin disappear.

New Orleans jailbreak: 10 escaped inmates

Ten inmates, including respective accused of murder, escaped done a spread down a toilet astatine Orleans Justice Center successful the aboriginal greeting hours of May 16, triggering a monthslong, multi-agency manhunt crossed Louisiana and beyond.

The inmates taunted authorities connected their mode out, leaving handwritten messages connected the compartment wall, including 1 that read, "To casual LOL."

NEW ORLEANS OFFICIALS GRILLED OVER 'COORDINATED' 10-INMATE JAILBREAK

New Orleans jailhouse escapee Gary Price is escorted to a chopper by constabulary who captured him. (Louisiana State Police)

Jail unit did not recognize the inmates were missing until astir 8:30 a.m., hours aft the escape, officials aboriginal acknowledged during a City Council meeting.

The breakout exposed heavy information failures wrong the aging jail, from staffing shortages to long-ignored attraction issues. An worker of the New Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office was charged with allegedly aiding the flight by turning disconnected h2o successful the cell, portion 2 suspected accomplices were besides arrested successful transportation with allegedly helping the inmates.

"First of all, that jailhouse had been deemed a bid wreck successful presumption of conscionable basal jailhouse operations," erstwhile national situation Warden Cameron Lindsay antecedently told Fox News Digital.

"It would look that basal information inspections were not taking place. Inmates should ne'er beryllium capable to teardrop a toilet disconnected a partition and spell consecutive to the perimeter fence. I conscionable can’t judge that."

By October, each 10 escapees had been captured, but the incidental triggered aggravated scrutiny of jailhouse oversight and leadership.

'Devil successful the Ozarks': Former constabulary main Grant Hardin's situation escape

Former constabulary main and convicted slayer Grant Hardin, 56, slipped retired of the Calico Rock situation connected May 25 by disguising himself arsenic a corrections serviceman — a breach made imaginable erstwhile a defender mistook him for staff.

Nicknamed the "Devil successful the Ozarks," Hardin escaped done a sally larboard wearing a makeshift Arkansas Department of Correction-style uniform, situation officials said, noting it was not an authoritative uniform.

NOTORIOUS 'DEVIL IN THE OZARKS' FINALLY CAUGHT AFTER WEEKS-LONG MANHUNT THAT DREW MULTIPLE AGENCIES

Grant Hardin allegedly utilized a achromatic marker and crockery tin to disguise himself earlier escaping prison. (U.S. Border Patrol)

The erstwhile constabulary main pleaded blameworthy to fatally shooting a antheral wrong the victim's enactment motortruck successful 2017. After submitting DNA samples erstwhile helium was booked for the execution case, his DNA was linked to the 1997 cold-case rape of a teacher. He pleaded blameworthy successful that lawsuit successful 2019, according to KNWA.

"This feline is conscionable truthful evil. I mean, this feline is simply a sociopath," survivalist Shawn Hendrix antecedently told Fox News Digital. "[Hardin] has nary attraction for humans oregon anybody but himself. He's law-enforcement trained. He has a past of issues successful and retired of the police. I deliberation there's a full bigger communicative of however this feline was a bull for 27 years, right? … I would not privation to beryllium retired looking for this guy."

The flight sparked a monolithic manhunt crossed the rugged Ozark terrain involving authorities police, the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI. Hardin was captured connected June 6, astir 2 weeks later, little than 2 miles from the prison.

"Thanks to the large enactment of local, authorities and national instrumentality enforcement, Arkansans tin respire a suspiration of alleviation and I tin corroborate that convulsive transgression Grant Hardin is backmost successful custody," Gov. Sarah Sanders said pursuing his capture. "I americium grateful for each instrumentality enforcement who contributed to his seizure and springiness peculiar acknowledgment to the Trump medication and Secretary Kristi Noem, who sent a squad from Border Patrol that was instrumental successful tracking and apprehending Hardin."

Manhunt for fugitive dada Travis Decker

After murdering his 3 daughters, Travis Caleb Decker vanished into agrarian Washington state, mounting disconnected 1 of the largest manhunts Chelan County has ever seen.

Investigators began searching for Decker successful precocious May aft helium failed to instrumentality his daughters, Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia, 5, to their parent pursuing a scheduled visitation. The children’s bodies were aboriginal recovered adjacent Rock Island Campground on Icicle Creek with bags implicit their heads. Autopsies determined the girls died from suffocation.

FUGITIVE DAD TRAVIS DECKER CONFIRMED DEAD AS DNA MATCHES REMAINS FOUND IN WASHINGTON STATE: OFFICIALS

In this handout photograph provided by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, deputies enactment successful the hunt for Travis Decker astatine an undisclosed determination successful Washington state, Friday, June 6, 2025. (Snohomish County Sheriff's Office photograph via AP; Chelan County Sheriff's Office)

An Army seasoned with extended endurance training, Decker managed to evade seizure arsenic teams from aggregate counties and national agencies combed immense stretches of wilderness.

His remains were yet discovered successful September, bringing the manhunt to a close. 

"To Whitney, we apologize it’s taken this agelong to get the closure we were looking for successful this case," Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said successful a quality conference, referring to Decker's ex-wife and the parent of the 3 slain girls. "But I anticipation you tin remainder easier astatine nighttime knowing Travis is accounted for. He is deceased, our DNA results confirmed that and this volition bring a adjacent to our case." 

Montana barroom shooting manhunt

A deadly wide shooting astatine The Owl Bar successful Anaconda near 4 radical dormant connected Aug. 1, prompting a weeklong, multi-agency manhunt done rugged terrain aft the suspected gunman fled the scene.

Authorities identified 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, a erstwhile U.S. Army soldier, arsenic the fishy successful the fatal quadruple homicide and said helium was tracked for days earlier being taken into custody astir five-and-a-half miles from the transgression scene, adjacent a barn westbound of Anaconda.

During the search, officials warned Brown was equipped and highly unsafe arsenic instrumentality enforcement expanded operations crossed steep, heavy wooded areas.

ARMY VETERAN ARRESTED AFTER WEEK-LONG MANHUNT FOLLOWING DEADLY MONTANA BAR MASSACRE THAT KILLED 4 PEOPLE

The Owl Bar successful Anaconda, Montana, wherever Michael Paul Brown allegedly killed 4 people. (Fox News Digital)

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte praised the coordinated effect of local, authorities and national authorities astatine a quality briefing, saying officers "didn’t discarded a second" successful the effort to find the suspect. Attorney General Austin Knudsen said astir 130 unit assisted successful the manhunt and credited assemblage tips with helping pb investigators to Brown.

The victims were identified arsenic Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64; David Allen Leach, 70; and Tony Wayne Palm, 74, each residents of Anaconda.

Investigators said Brown initially fled the barroom connected ft and was aboriginal believed to beryllium utilizing a stolen vehicle, allowing him to evade seizure for respective days earlier his arrest.

Some residents told Fox News Digital they had antecedently described Brown arsenic volatile, with individuals saying they warned neighbors helium mightiness "snap" earlier the shooting.

Brown University shooter manhunt

A deadly schoolroom onslaught wrong Brown University’s Barus and Holley engineering gathering killed 2 students and wounded 9 others during a finals-week reappraisal league connected Dec. 13, triggering a monolithic multi-agency manhunt.

LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPERT WARNS EARLY DETAILS ‘OFTEN CHANGE’ AS MANHUNT INTENSIFIES AT BROWN UNIVERSITY

A divided representation shows Claudio Neves-Valente, identified arsenic the Brown University gunman, wearing the aforesaid overgarment arsenic a antheral identified earlier arsenic a idiosyncratic of involvement successful the case. (Providence Police Department)

The victims were identified arsenic Ella Cook, a vice president of the College Republicans from Birmingham, Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an aspiring neurosurgeon from Virginia.

Authorities aboriginal identified 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a Portuguese national, arsenic the suspected gunman. He was recovered dormant of a self-inflicted gunshot coiled wrong a retention installation successful Salem, New Hampshire, during the search. Investigators judge helium was besides liable for the fatal shooting of an MIT prof days later.

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The manhunt and its aftermath near campuses nationwide reexamining information measures, arsenic investigators worked to retrace Neves-Valente’s movements utilizing surveillance video, nationalist tips and carnal evidence.

Fox News Digital's Peter D'Abrosca, Bonny Chu, Andrea Margolis, Stephen Sorace, Michael Ruiz, Julia Bonavita and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send communicative tips to [email protected].