On February 17, 2015 at 7:40 a.m., Sheriff Brandes reported that Austin County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to a report that four residents of the Five Oaks Achievement Center, located at Pechacek Road in New Ulm, had run away from that facility.  Sheriff’s Deputies responded and by 9:38 a.m. this date, all four runaways were found in the New Ulm area and returned to the facility. 

This is the 16th time within the last two years that Sheriff’s Deputies have responded to a total of 23 runaways from the Five Oaks Achievement Center. Sheriff Brandes at this time is in the process of filing a formal complaint with the State of Texas concerning the supervision of residents at the center. “We are deeply concerned for the safety of the residents that run away from this facility. Deputies have previously found runaways hiding in buildings on private property and concerned of what could happen if the owners of the properties approach the runaways” said Sheriff Brandes. This will be the second complaint to the State of Texas brought forward by the Sheriff’s Office concerning runaways from the Five Oaks Achievement Center in New Ulm.