UPDATE: The two escapees were captured by a team of law enforcement agencies at a home in Waco around 2 p.m., Hill County Chief Deputy R.D. White confirmed by phone.
Investigators worked with the inmates' contacts inside the jail, as well as members of their visitation lists to help track them down and apprehend them without incident, White said. Both men arrived back at the jail around 2:30 p.m.
"The Marshals FAST unit was a huge help," White said.
The Hill County Sheriff's Office will ask for both men to be charged with escape and will encourage prosecutors to seek a sentence of 10 years behind bars.
Original Story:
Two men escaped the Hill County Jail Saturday morning, law enforcement confirmed.
Chief Deputy R.D. White said the duo slid out a back dock door four minutes after a head count was done at 5 a.m. while they were supposed to be helping 10 other inmates prepare breakfast. From there, White said the inmates slipped through a tear in a fence and proceeded to scale a perimeter fence.
The inmates were identified as Billy Clyde Crelia, 39 and Corey Buckner, 38.
"Any time that you have a felon on the run -- somebody who is desperate, we want people to be very careful," White said.
According to a press release from Hill County Sheriff's Office Operations Captain Scott Robinson, law enforcement found some clothing in a wooded area to the north of the sheriff's office. At that point, Texas Game Wardens were dispatched and used a canine to help search for the pair. The deputies and wardens tracked the scent to State Highway 22, where it ended, according to the release.
Deputies were actively chasing down leads Saturday afternoon, and the U.S. Marshals Service in Waco had joined the search. Robinson said the Texas Department of Corrections was also helping look for the inmates.
"Their tracking dogs conducted a secondary search and confirmed the Game Warden's K-9 findings, that the scent ended at SH 22," Robinson explained in the release. "This is a fluid situation and we are focusing all of our resources on locating these individuals."
According to a 2017 article in the Hillsboro reporter, Buckner led police on a pursuit that hit speeds of more than 120 miles per hour before crashing near Itasca back in October. At the time, he was booked for evading arrest in a motor vehicle and violating his parole with a robbery charge, according to Saturday's release. Crelia was in jail for charges of possession of a controlled substance and violating his parole by engaging in organized criminal activity, the release said.