The Last of the Yakima County Jail Escapees is Now Back in Custody

Yakima, WA – The U.S. Marshals Service, Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force (PNVOTF) arrested 32 year old Fernando Gustavo Castaneda-Sandoval today ending a five day manhunt that encompassed four counties. Castaneda-Sandoval a convicted sex offender was the last of six (6) Yakima County Jail Escapees to be rounded up and returned back to the Yakima County Jail.

On the evening of March 23, 2020, fourteen (14) prisoners escaped from the Yakima County Jail. Eight (8) prisoners were almost immediately apprehended and returned back to the jail. Castaneda-Sandoval and five (5) others remained at large after the first night, triggering a multi-agency manhunt in the Yakima, Kittitas, Adams and Grant County areas.

On March 27, 2020 information was developed that lead Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force team members to a home near the corner of S. Wapato and McDonald Rd's in Wapato, WA. Team members travelled to the location in an attempt to locate Castaneda-Sandoval. As they approached the residence, he appeared in a doorway and slammed the front door shut. Team members immediately locked down the residence and called for additional resources to be sent to the location. After a brief stand-off, team members were able to successfully negotiate a peaceful surrender. Castaneda-Sandoval exited the residence and was taken into custody without incident.

The Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, is a U.S. Marshals Service sponsored partnership composed of Federal, state and local law enforcement officers from Washington, Oregon and Alaska. The primary mission is to locate, arrest, and return to justice the most violent, most egregious federal and state fugitives.

Craig Thayer, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Washington thanked everyone in the community that called in Crime Stoppers tips. He said, the successful ending of this manhunt, is a result of the good people in this community calling in information for us to act upon.

He also said, "I am incredibly proud of the work our men and women did over the past week to pursue, capture and return to justice the escaped prisoners." He thanked all of the law enforcement agencies that participated in the manhunt. This operation was a success, because of the collaborative efforts of everyone involved. He thanked our partners, the Yakima Sheriff's Office, Yakima Police Department, Yakama Nation Tribal Police Department, Grant County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Border Patrol, Washington State Department of Corrections, Adams County Sheriff's Office, Moses Lake Police Department, and Washington State Patrol who actively participated in this operation.