New details show security lapses allowed a California inmate to escape. He evaded capture for weeks

It was a few minutes after 8 a.m. on a Friday last month when the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office received a call.

Did he know where Caleb Duerr was?

Duerr, 39, was an inmate at the county jail in Quincy, about 100 miles northeast of Sacramento. An Army veteran was charged with assaulting and threatening his wife and violating a restraining order twice.

At the time of the telephone conversation, he was said to be in the prison yard. In fact: he was gone.

These and other details about Duera September 27, escape emerged in recent interviews with county officials, providing the fullest picture yet of his escape. New information reveals lapses in prison security and a lack of police response that likely allowed him to escape and remain undetected for almost three weeks, sparking fear and uncertainty in the rural community. Deputies arrested him October 17.

Plumas County Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Hermann said no one saw Duerr get through two chain-link fences on the jail property. Duerr used a tool he found in prison, he said. Hermann declined to specify the type of tool, citing the ongoing investigation.

He also said it was unclear what tool Duerr used on the second fence. Duerr, he said, is not talking to deputies.

The holes he made in both fences weren’t very large, but he opened them enough to get out, Plumas County District Attorney David Hollister said. Hollister said there is surveillance footage of the area leading to the fences, but not the fences themselves.

“It was a very old system that was, quite frankly, terrible,” Hermann said.

In June, the Sheriff’s Office announced the opening a brand new prison, but has not yet moved prisoners to the new facility. This happened within a week of Duer’s escape.

Before the Sheriff’s Office realized he was gone, Duerr went to a nearby auto parts store. Deputies suspect he removed the top of his blue prison uniform, Hermann said.

At the store, Duerr met a man who gave him a ride. Hermann said deputies do not believe the driver knew Duer.

“He thought it was a homeless man trying to help,” the sheriff’s deputy said.

They both headed east. Hermann said Duerr lent the driver’s cell phone and made at least one call. The driver then dropped Duerr off near Beckwourth, a small community about 30 miles from the prison. He was last seen walking on a county road near State Highway 70.

Law enforcement officers eventually went to the location where he had been dropped off. But Duer was already gone.

“We were probably delayed about 45 minutes to an hour,” Hermann said.

“There were definitely mistakes in the first hour that I hope everyone learns from,” said Plumas County Supervisor Greg Hagwood, who retired as sheriff in 2019.

Hagwood still has questions about the escape. So did Dwight Ceresola, another district supervisor. Both claim they were not informed of this by the Sheriff’s Office.

“It would be nice to know how it happened,” Ceresola said.

Hermann said the agency will soon complete an internal review and share details with county officials.

When asked why Duerr remained undetected for so long, Hermann replied that he did not know.

“It would just be a guess.”

The sheriff’s office said it has family and friends in California, Nevada and Oregon, which creates a large area to search.

Family members did not respond to several phone calls and emails from The Sacramento Bee seeking comment.

Within days of the escape, Hermann said, a local judge and Hollister, the district attorney, received emails that the sheriff’s office believed came from Duerr. The sheriff’s deputy declined to discuss the contents of the messages. So did Hollister and the judge.

In July, Duer’s attorney, Chris Parkhurst, raised concerns that he might not be competent to stand trial, Hollister said. His domestic violence case has been put on hold pending an assessment.

Parkhurst declined to discuss Duer’s behavior with Bee, but confirmed he had requested a competency evaluation. He said everything he knows about the escape comes from reports published by the Sheriff’s Office.

Eventually, Hermann said the agency got a lead that led them to Duer’s home in Johnsville, a community of about 20 people in the southern part of the county, about 25 miles from the prison.

Deputies went to the house and waited. Inside they saw movement. Officers from several other agencies came to help. Duerr was summoned from the home and surrendered without incident.

Hermann said deputies don’t know how many days he was there.

The Bee’s Ishani Desai contributed to this story.