Brazen prison escaper recaptured at fuel stop

Officials were stunned by the brazen escape on Sunday night of Michael David Elliot, who had a record of good behaviour during his 20 years in custody.

He wore a white civilian kitchen uniform to evade security and blend in with snow at the Ionia correctional facility in Michigan, prisons spokesman Russ Marlan said.

Indiana state police Sergeant Ron Galaviz said Elliot was in LaPorte County when a sheriff’s deputy investigating a vehicle theft tried to make a traffic stop. The suspect ran, but the authorities captured him.

Fences at the prison were equipped with motion sensors to alert guards. The fences also carry electric current to shock anyone who touches them.

“It appears that did not happen. ... He was not zapped with electricity, and he was not picked up by the motion sensors,” Mr Marlan said.

Once outside the prison, Elliot, 40, abducted a woman and stole her Jeep. The woman, who was not hurt, escaped late on Sunday when he stopped for petrol some 100 miles to the south. The Jeep was found abandoned nearby.

An alert was issued to law enforcement nationwide.