A 19-year-old Hispanic man in shackles escaped from an ICE vehicle rolling down Interstate 94, triggering a five-hour manhunt before he was caught in a wooded area in Porter near the U.S. 20 interchange Tuesday evening, authorities say.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement identified the man late Wednesday as Elder Jeffry Caal-Tiul, who is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala.
Caal-Tiul was originally encountered by Border Patrol agents on June 15, 2024, near Sasabe, Arizona, and accused of illegally entering the country but was released. After failing to show for an immigration hearing, an immigration judge issued Caal-Tiul a final order of removal on June 5, 2025, an ICE press release said.
At least two dozen officers from local law enforcement agencies were initially involved in the search, which mostly concentrated on a heavily wooded area that runs behind and east of the ATS Service Inc. truck terminal and maintenance facility near the U.S. 20 interchange.
A helicopter from the Lake County Police Department Aviation unit was also deployed Tuesday afternoon.
Porter Police Chief Dan Dickey said he was notified just after 7 p.m., at the start of the Town Council meeting, that the man had been captured without incident.
The U.S. Marshals Service and ICE were in charge of the search at that time. Indiana State Police said in a release that the escapee was cold and wet after hiding in a marshy area of the woods.
Dickey was among the many law enforcement officers who went tramping around the dense woodland. His bare arms had red marks from the branches he brushed up against.
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“We looked everywhere,” Dickey said.
Police officers also searched the surrounding area beyond the woods, contacting homeowners and looking in backyards and sheds. They also checked the area around Lake Charles in Porter, located just east of the woods.
Sgt. Glen Fifield of the Indiana State Police said the incident started on the Indiana Toll Road, when the 19-year-old man who lives outside the area was stopped for a traffic violation.
Fifield said the Indiana State Police trooper during the traffic stop learned that ICE had a warrant out to detain the man. He had no details on what the warrant involved.
The ICE release differs in details, saying that Caal-Tiul was arrested by Indiana State Police near the Chesterton Weigh Station, which would be on I-94 east of Chesterton. ICE states that their Chicago office was contacted by the Indiana State Police and that they picked up Caal-Tiul.
While traveling west on I-94 near the U.S. 20 interchange for Porter/Burns Harbor, something happened inside the van, Fifield said.
Fifield said he has heard various reports that the vehicle was traveling anywhere from 20 to 50 mph. There are slowdowns on I-94 because of road work and congestion.
“They’re still investigating what was going on,” Fifield said.
The ICE spokesperson didn’t answer emailed questions from the Post-Tribune concerning details of the man’s escape. The release only said that Caal-Tiul escaped custody during transport.
Caal-Tiul will be kept in custody until the removal order is carried out, the ICE press release said.
State police took initial charge of the search, which toward the evening hours was turned over to federal authorities.
Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson said his concern was the safety of Yost Elementary School students, since the building is within a mile of the wooded area that was being searched.
Out of an abundance of caution, Richardson said Chesterton police officers who work as school resource officers for the Duneland School District went to Yost.
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Police officers escorted students and followed the school buses home from Yost Elementary to ensure that everyone got home safely.
Richardson said that his department enacted similar measures on Oct. 31 last year, when police were searching for a man who had fired shots at his ex-girlfriend during a fight at her Chesterton residence. The man was later found hiding in a home on Wabash Avenue.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.