California Fugitive Returned to U.S. After Tip Leads to Capture in Belize

A fugitive wanted for a June 2010 homicide in the city of Palmdale was returned to the U.S. yesterday following her capture in Belize. Larene Eleanor Austin, 29, allegedly murdered Lanell Barsock in 2010 and attempted to frame the victim’s boyfriend for the murder.

When Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives determined that Austin had fled the state of California, detectives requested assistance from the Los Angeles Fugitive Task Force, and publicized the case on the television program, America’s Most Wanted.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives received a tip after the television program aired a story about the murder over the 2011 Christmas holiday. The tip indicated Austin was living in the Central American country of Belize. After further investigation, Sheriff’s detectives determined the tip was credible and shared it with members of the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles.

The Fugitive Task Force contacted the FBI’s Legal Attaché in San Salvador, which covers Belize and other Central American countries, to further investigate the tip. Officers with the Belize Police Department working with FBI agents in Central America arrested Austin without incident.

Austin was expelled yesterday from Belize and was flown to Houston, Texas, under the escort of FBI agents assigned to the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador.