UPDATE: Troup County sheriff’s deputies cancel search for escaped inmate; in custody
UPDATE: The inmate, identified as Christian Joel-Marcos Cortez, was taken into custody by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, nearly 92 miles away from the jail. The Troup County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigators received information that Cortez may have traveled to a location in Acworth.
A deputy with the Troup County Sheriff’s Office is currently on the way to Cherokee County to take custody of Cortez. The internal investigation is ongoing to determine how Cortez was able to make it out of the jail facility.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the LaGrange Police Department, Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Corrections and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations assisted in the case.
The Troup County Sheriff’s Office is searching for an escaped inmate.
Christian Joel Marcos Cortez, described as a hispanic male, weighing 150-pounds, standing at 5’7”, and wearing a white shirt with black and white striped pants.
Cortez was last seen around 4:42 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, and was discovered unaccounted for around 9:30 a.m.
Cortez was able to exit the jail through an outer door and successfully climb an exterior fence and leave the property of the Jail.
Cortez was in jail for charges of Child Molestation and Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation.
Currently, there is an ongoing search for Cortez using a number of law enforcement and public resources. “There is also an internal investigation to determine how Cortez was able to leave the facility,” the sheriff’s office said.
If anyone has information about this case, you are asked to call the Troup County Sheriff Office at 706-883-1616 or 911.
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