SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas — **EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above was produced Jan. 10, 2023, when the first of the missing inmates was captured in the Dallas area.
The last of two inmates who escaped from a Mississippi detention center has been found dead in East Texas.
According to the Hinds County (Mississippi) Sheriff's Office, Traverro McElroy, 36, who was wanted for murder and possession of a firearm, was found dead Tuesday, Feb. 7, in a park restroom in Sulphur Springs
The Sulphur Springs Police Department reports around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, officers responded to the Pacific Park restroom regarding the welfare of an individual that had been in the restroom for a long period of time.
When police entered the restroom, they found the body of a man. The body was sent to Dallas for autopsy and was identified as McElroy by his fingerprints.
"The cause of death is unknown at this time and the investigation is ongoing," the HCSO said in a statement. However, police say foul play is not suspected.
McElroy and Tyler Payne, 31, are believed to have escaped the Raymond Detention Center in Jackson, Mississippi, around 7:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
The Hinds County Sheriff's Office says they were performing a headcount around 11 a.m. Christmas Day when they learned Payne and McElroy had escaped. Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said the inmates left the facility through the recreation center door and jumped several fences.
Officials said the inmates took a van that belonged to Belmont Missionary Baptist Church which was later found in Lake Fork in Wood County around noon on Christmas Day.
A statement from the Wood County Sheriff’s Office said the van was seen driving into Lake Fork. A dive team from the Quitman Fire Department was able to recover the vehicle.
Witnesses say after driving the van into the lake, they saw two men leave in a white or silver older model compact vehicle.
According to Sheriff Jones, Payne was taken into custody on Tuesday, Jan 10, following a "string of violent crimes and a pursuit in Frisco."
Payne is also being held on the following charges out of Hinds County:
- Auto burglary
- Business burglary
- Church burglary
- Motor vehicle taking
- Escape from Raymond Detention Center
- Armed carjacking
He was booked into the Dallas County Jail where he remains to this day.