Hunt for Missing Belknap County Inmate Leads to Concord

A pre-trail inmate from the Lakes Region who allegedly removed his electronic bracelet on July 23, has been caught, according to press reports, after his parents turned him in.

Ryan Mears, 26, of New Durham, was being held on $60,000 cash bail on charges of negligent homicide and second-degree assault by Belknap County Superior Court. He allegedly was involved in a November 2014 crash in Laconia that took the life of Tiffany Nieves, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

In March, Mears was released on an electronic monitoring device.

Sometime on Thursday morning though, according to an alert, he allegedly removed the bracelet and failed to check in with the court at 4 p.m.

Police in New Durham as well as the New Hampshire State Police conducted K-9 searches of the area but they could not find Mears.

At about 9 p.m., sheriffs and Concord Police received a tip that a vehicle connected to Mears might be at an apartment complex on Fisherville Road, according to Lt. Joe Wright of the Concord Police Department.

The officers and sheriffs set up a command at the Lun Hing Motel and then, attempted to contact the owner of the vehicle to see if Mears was in the complex. During the course of several hours, law enforcement watched for Mears and later, in the apartment complex, arrested another man on a warrant. However, Mears was not found, according to Wright.

Yesterday, Mears was turned in to police by family members, according to WMUR-TV, and he’s being held at the Belknap County prison.