BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The Air Force is investigating a security breach at Patrick Air Force Base Monday. A man ran from security guards and onto the base in Brevard County around 10:00am, Air Force officers said.
The Air Force never found the suspect, described as a Hispanic male in his 30s, wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Investigators said he was with a group of workers in a truck going onto the base to do work and, when the security officer started looking closely at his paperwork, he jumped from the truck and took off. But, instead of running from the base, he ran into it, jumping a 5-foot wall and ending up inside the base.
For more than two hours, military police at Patrick Air Force Base searched the installation looking for the man.
"We immediately set up a perimeter and started doing some searches," said Major John Newton, Security Squadron.
Patrick Air Force Base, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and Satellite Beach Police started searching in and around the military base for the man. Authorities have not released his name, but they said they talked to the other men in the truck and don't believe his intent was to get inside the base for any ulterior motives.
"I believe the individual, whatever his issue was, didn't want to face security scrutiny at our installation gate," Newton said.
Military police believe he jumped a second wall and fled the base all together. Base security said the man had legitimate immigration identification.
As for whether the man's escape showed a lapse in security at the base, the security squadron commander said his officers followed proper procedure, calling for backup and not giving up their position guarding the entrance to the base. Security forces said instances like that rarely happen, but since the 911 terrorist attacks they have to take the incidents very seriously.
If they find the man, he could face charges of trespassing, with the penalty of six months in jail, and a $5,000 fine for breaking into a military base.
WFTV