Washington Ridge Walkaway Apprehended in Tijuana

NEVADA COUNTY — Miguel Banuelos, 49, who walked away from Washington Ridge Conservation Camp #44 near Nevada City on July 4, was apprehended in Tijuana, Mexico, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The minimum-security conservation camp, jointly operated by CDCR and CAL FIRE, provides incarcerated hand crews for emergency response, conservation, and community service work.

CDCR said Mexican authorities apprehended Banuelos without incident at a residence in Tijuana at approximately 11:20 AM on July 6. The department said information from CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety helped lead authorities to Banuelos.

Banuelos will appear before an immigration judge and then be processed through the port of entry, according to CDCR. The department said he will be rehoused at a CDCR institution, and his case will be referred to the Nevada County District Attorney for possible escape charges.

Banuelos had been last seen at approximately 12:35 PM on July 4, CDCR said. Staff discovered him missing during a 2 PM count, searched the camp grounds, then initiated escape procedures and notified local law enforcement after they could not find him.

Banuelos was received from San Diego County on July 23, 2025, and was serving a seven-year sentence, according to CDCR. He was convicted of transportation or sale of a controlled substance and possession or purchase of heroin or cocaine exceeding four kilograms, and had been scheduled for release on April 20, 2028.

Washington Ridge is located at 11425 Conservation Camp Road in Nevada City. CDCR says the camp’s primary mission is to supply hand crews for fires, floods, and other emergencies, while crews also work on conservation and community service projects year-round.

Conservation camp assignments are voluntary under CDCR policy, and prisoners must meet eligibility rules before placement. Participants must have minimum-custody status, generally eight years or less remaining to serve, physical and mental clearance, and no disqualifying convictions such as sex offenses, arson, or prior escape history.

The program also provides job training. CDCR says volunteers who pass a physical fitness test complete CAL FIRE’s Firefighting Training program, which includes four days of classroom training and four days of field training, after which they are certified wildland firefighters.

A Nevada County Grand Jury report from 2014-15 said Washington Ridge could house up to 106 inmates and support five fire crews with up to 17 inmates per crew. The report described the camp as an ongoing local resource whose crews helped with fire suppression, fuels work, stream clearing, trails, levees, rescues, floods, and landslides.

Under California Penal Code section 4530, an escape or attempted escape from a prison road camp, forestry camp, or other prison camp can carry additional prison time, with sentencing depending in part on whether force or violence was used. CDCR said Banuelos’ case will be referred to the Nevada County District Attorney for possible escape charges.

Walkaways from Washington Ridge have happened before. In 2024, CDCR announced that Arnel T. Arienda, who had left the camp, was apprehended without incident in Nevada City the following day.

CDCR says 99 percent of people who have escaped or walked away from an adult institution, camp, in-state contract bed, or community-based program placement have been apprehended since 1977. Banuelos’ apprehension came two days after he was reported missing, but some other cases have remained unresolved for years, and others have taken more than a decade to close.

One of the longer-running cases involved Eduardo Hernandez, who walked away from Delta Conservation Camp in Suisun City in 2011 and was not apprehended until May 20, 2024, in New York City. Hernandez had left the camp with Jose Padilla, whom the Los Angeles Times reported had “not yet been apprehended” after Hernandez’s arrest. More recently, the Sacramento Bee reported in April that Juan David Veramancini, who walked away from Growlersburg Conservation Camp in El Dorado County in February, remained at large nearly two months later.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect CDCR’s announcement that Miguel Banuelos was apprehended in Tijuana, Mexico, on July 6.