UPDATE: Authorities locate second escaped juvenile

Published 4:49 pm Wednesday, August 2, 2023

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Troup County Sheriff’s deputies are still investigating an incident where a pair of teens escaped a youth rehabilitation center in Cataula.

The second teen was located by authorities and taken into custody Wednesday morning. His cohort was located earlier that morning near that area of Chase Rd. near Pricilla Drive just outside of LaGrange.

The second juvenile was reportedly barefoot while fleeing from deputies.

According to TCSO Public Information Officer Sgt. Stewart Smith, the teens escaped from Carpenter’s Way Ranch in Cataula. The facility is a maximum oversight facility for boys from eight to 18 years old and sometimes gets referrals from juvenile justice.

Both young men are being turned back over to the facility.

A gunshot was also confirmed to have been fired during the incident, which is still under investigation.

Smith said investigators are still trying to dissect exactly what occurred with the firearm but no one was struck. He said the gun was potentially fired into the air or the ground in the general area but not at anyone.

Further details will be provided as they become available.

The names of the subjects are being withheld due to their juvenile status.