Mexicali municipal police arrested Alexandra Meza, 31, on the morning of April 8 after she fled an Imperial County hospital 12 days earlier and crossed the border into Mexico. Officers found Meza walking near an abandoned home in the Pasadina neighborhood of Mexicali, where she was reportedly using drugs.
Meza had been booked into the Imperial County Jail on March 24 on two misdemeanor bench warrants for drug offenses. Two days later, on March 26, she reported a medical complaint and was transported by ambulance to El Centro Regional Medical Center, about 15 miles north of the border.
How Meza Escaped Custody in El Centro
On the morning of March 27, Meza asked to use the restroom and had her restraints removed. She then slipped out through a nearby door and disappeared. At the time, she was under the watch of a private security contractor, not Imperial County Sheriff’s deputies. The escape prompted immediate criticism about the use of private guards for inmates at the hospital.
The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office launched a search with help from the El Centro Police Department and the San Diego Police Department. Investigators also alerted Mexican authorities, suspecting Meza had crossed the border into Baja California.
Cross-Border Cooperation Led to Arrest
That suspicion proved correct. Mexicali municipal police located Meza on the morning of April 8, ending the 12-day manhunt. After her detention, she was turned over to Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM), which authorized her transfer back to U.S. authorities.
Meza was handed over to Imperial County Sheriff’s investigators and Mexican liaison officers at the Calexico Downtown Port of Entry, according to the Imperial Valley Press. She has been re-booked into the Imperial County Jail.
The case is a notable example of binational law enforcement coordination between Mexicali police and multiple U.S. agencies. For border residents who cross regularly between Calexico and Mexicali, the cooperation between the two countries’ police forces is a practical reality that plays out in cases like this one.
The original report was published by Punto Norte on April 8.