Inmate wanted after escaping Harris County Joint Processing Center, sheriff's office says

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A manhunt is underway for an inmate who escaped the Harris County Jail on Tuesday, according to authorities.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said deputies are searching for Travis Earl Bryant II after he escaped custody at about 1 p.m.

Investigators said the 47-year-old exited from the Harris County Joint Processing Center, where he was waiting alongside former inmates set to be released. Bryant allegedly managed to blend in and walk out.

Deputies said he was last seen wearing a dark grey mechanics jumper and described him as a Black man who is 6 feet tall and weighs 175 pounds.

"There's really only one way that I can see that any inmate could "blend in" and that's to be in civilian clothing," legal analyst Brian Wice said. "Look, if you are in the proverbial jumpsuit that we have all come to know and love, you are going to stick out like the proverbial thumb."

The sheriff's office told Eyewitness News that Bryant was arrested on Jan. 22 in the Houston area on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for a possession of controlled substances case out of Jefferson County.

HCSO said he was being transferred to Jefferson County when he escaped and was not in handcuffs.

Anyone with information on Bryant's whereabouts is urged to call the HCSO at 713-221-6000 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477 (TIPS).

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