“There is a guard who keeps messing with me. Look, I have to let you go,” Figueroa shared with his sister before disappearing entirely a few days later. She replied, “Papi, you know I love you. This is going to end in a few months. Please call me tomorrow.”
Following the realization of the inmate’s absence, searchers examined the surrounding area and found footprints leading to a nearby abandoned mineshaft. They surmised that Figueroa had fled to the mine to avoid detection and fallen to his death. Further pursuit was halted; conditions in the mine were too dangerous for a thorough search to be performed (per Times Union).
After officials failed to provide sufficient answers, Figueroa’s family became restless in their drive to find out what happened to their loved one. However, authorities threatened to arrest the fugitive’s sister if she took to the mines herself or tried to hire a private search party. “I was going crazy. He was my other half,” she shared years later. She said she “would try calling the jail and they would hang up on me. No one would tell me anything.” The family suspected foul play on the part of the law and prison officials, but nothing was ever confirmed (per Times Union).
Some 25 years later, Victor Figueroa’s disappearance remains a puzzling mystery. He is the only (so far) New York prisoner to escape and (also so far) not be found (via Reader’s Digest).
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