Search fatalities

Jose Escobar

Age :

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 01/29/2025

Location : 3100 block of Rowena Avenue / pond near Rowena Avenue

City : Durham

County : Durham

State : North Carolina

Agency : Durham Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Drowned

Event : Drowned during police pursuit

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 01/29/2025, Jose Escobar died after running into a pond while being pursued by Durham Police Department officers near the 3100 block of Rowena Avenue in Durham. Police alleged that Escobar was driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen. Officers attempted to stop him at approximately 10:00 a.m.
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Police alleged that as officers closed in on Escobar on the dead-end roadway, he jumped from the vehicle, ran into a wooded area and entered a large pond. Witness James Conyers told ABC11 that he saw Escobar get out of a blue Nissan and run into the woods as police arrived.
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Durham police said several officers entered the pond and attempted to reach Escobar but were unable to do so and eventually lost sight of him. Durham Fire Department water-rescue personnel and a drone team responded, and the Durham County Sheriff's Office dive team participated in the recovery operation.
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Escobar's body was recovered from the pond on 01/30/2025. Contemporary reporting initially described him only as an unidentified man. Later reporting by WRAL concerning another Durham County pursuit identified the man who died in the Rowena Avenue pond as Jose Escobar and specifically described the January incident as a Durham police pursuit following the alleged theft of a vehicle.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Durham Police Department officers involved in the attempted vehicle stop, foot pursuit and attempted water rescue have not been publicly identified in the sources located.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://abc11.com/post/durham-suspect-drowned-quarry-pond-recovery-search-stolen-car-chase-police/15846452/
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article299438684.html
https://www.wral.com/news/local/water-rescue-crews-searching-pond-east-durham-jan-2025/
https://www.wral.com/news/local/truck-submerged-falls-lake-durham-county-march-2025/