‘No excuse’: Marion County mistakenly releases wrong identical twin from jail, asks public for help

INDIANAPOLIS — Marion County officials are asking for help finding an inmate after an “administrative release error” involving identical twin brothers led to the wrong person being released from jail.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said it identified the error on Friday after Darrell Austin was mistakenly released in the place of his identical twin brother, Daron Austin. MCSO said the mistake happened because the brothers “bear very similar names and were being housed in the same facility at the same time for separate incidents.”

A bond was reportedly posted for Daron, but “because the two men share nearly indistinguishable physical characteristics,” jail staff retrieved and processed the wrong twin, Darrell, for release.

Darrell Austin was reportedly in custody on theft, criminal mischief and battery by bodily waste charges. Daron Austin, meanwhile, was being held on resisting law enforcement charges.

Upon discovering the error, the MCSO immediately notified the court, obtained an arrest warrant and dispatched officers to return Darrell to custody.

“There’s no excuse — we own it,” said Major Ben Bostock. “This is a highly unusual set of
circumstances. Two people with similar names, the same date of birth, and nearly identical
appearance were in our jail at the same time, and staff were operating under a valid bond. That
being said, it is clear that some policies were not strictly complied with. As such, this matter has
been referred to Internal Affairs and the staff members responsible will be held accountable.”

MCSO said that, at this time, there is no indication of an “elevated public safety risk” stemming from the mistaken release.

“The individual is expected to face the same court obligations as before, and the MCSO is
working to have him returned to custody,” a news release read.

Anyone with information on Darrell Austin’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately.