(September 30, 2009)

BISHOP--A police pursuit in Bishop leads to bailout. While police searched for the illegal immigrants. a school was put on lockdown. Officers believed the smuggler was armed.

Officers and Border Patrol agents searched for these immigrants in the brush. While the smuggler wasn't caught, authorities captured 8 people believe to be here illegally.

A driver wanted for driving a stolen car out of Houston drove through this fence near Avenue J in Bishop. He continued several yards before everybody bailed out.

"It got into the mud," said Guillermo "Willie" Vera, who is the Chief Deputy for the Nueces County Constable Office in Precinct 4. "The vehicle even though it's equipped with 4X4, it was not equipped in the 4X4 ability so it got stuck."

One immigrant suffering from blisters on his feet gave up right away. Meanwhile, seven others believed to be undocumented people from Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador followed the fence line for a few miles and hid in the brush.

They were eventually caught after a two hour search. Officers were concerned after finding ammunition for several weapons inside the vehicle.

"Walking into the brush and not knowing what to expect, they have to be extremely cautious, wait for back up and proceed with caution," Vera said. 

Officers searched the area armed with weapons, so Bishop Primary School was locked down for about an hour. Residents decided to take precautions just in case.

"Yeah, everything is locked and I just advised my neighbor also because she's here by herself to be sure and lock all the doors," said Justos Suarez, a Bishop resident. 

The undocumented immigrants are in federal custody and will face deportation.

--Manuel De La Rosa, Area 3 News, mdelarosa@kiiitv.com