Federal inmate escapes from Duluth prison

Daniel Torres, 44, was transferring from the minimum-security Duluth prison to a satellite facility in Illinois when he fled, the Bureau of Prisons reported. Spokesman Roger Pelawa said Torres was granted a furlough transfer, in which he was allowed to take a bus to the facility in Marion, Ill., when he disappeared at about 7:30 a.m.

“He was down at the bus station (in Duluth) but found alternate means of travel,” Pelawa told the News Tribune.

Torres was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Northern Illinois to 138 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. BOP records show that he was slated to be released from the sentence in March 2023.

Pelawa said it is standard procedure to grant furlough transfers to inmates at minimum-security facilities as they approach the end of their prison terms, allowing them to travel alone to their next destination.

“Typically what we try to do is get them closest to their release residence,” he said. “If they meet certain criteria, we’ll allow them to travel about and take public transportation.”

Torres is described as Hispanic, with black hair, brown eyes, 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighing approximately 180 pounds.

The U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement agencies were notified of his escape, and an internal investigation was launched. Anyone with information on Torres’ whereabouts is asked to contact the U.S. Marshals at (218) 529-3629.

Duluth’s Federal Prison Camp is home to 712 male inmates. It is the facility’s second escape this year, after 31-year-old Alejandro Rodriguez, also of Illinois, walked away on Jan. 9. He was apprehended a short time later in downtown Duluth.