NIPOMO — A state prison escapee was found by San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office deputies and California Department of Corrections officers on June 26 in Nipomo.

At approximately 8:30 a.m. on June 25, a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputy, on routine patrol in Los Osos, observed a vehicle parked in the 2000 block of Turri Road. An investigation by the deputy revealed the vehicle was stolen and was associated with Edgar Delgado, a prison inmate who had escaped from the Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad on June 23. 

The vehicle was found to be unoccupied and deputies conducted a search of the area for Delgado but were unable to locate him. 

Officers from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Fugitive Apprehension Team, and deputies from San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office began a joint investigation to locate Delgado, who was believed to still be in San Luis Obispo County. 

At approximately 1:57 p.m. on June 26, officers of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Fugitive Apprehension Team, and deputies from the San Luis Obispo County Gang Task Force were conducting a surveillance operation in a restaurant parking lot in the 500 Block of Tefft Street in Nipomo when they observed a subject matching Delgado’s description. 

Investigators contacted the subject and he was identified as Delgado, the escaped prison inmate. Delgado was taken into custody without incident by CDCR officers and returned to state prison. 

A follow-up investigation into the stolen vehicle revealed that there were numerous stolen tools. Investigators from CDCR and San Luis Obispo County Gang Task Force were able to recover those stolen tools at a residence in Los Osos for return to their owner.