Cops Nab Two Oklahoma Prison Inmates Who Escaped During Transport
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Comstock/Thinkstock(WEATHERFORD, Okla.) — Two prison inmates in Oklahoma who escaped during transport when guards left their van unattended were captured Tuesday evening after a manhunt, police said.
There were 11 prisoners in total and two guards on the transport van when one prisoner complained of anxiety and chest pain, authorities said. The guards made a detour to the Weatherford Hospital in Weatherford, Okla.
The guards and three of the prisoners went inside, leaving eight of the prisoners in the van, police said. That’s when one of the prisoners hopped into the driver’s seat and drove off along with seven others.
“The prisoners were being transported by a private company that picks up and drops off prisoners at various locations in the U.S.,” Weatherford Police Chief Byron Cox told ABC News.
“The van and six of those prisoners were found a short time later, as was a 12-gauge shotgun,” Cox told ABC News.
After the manhunt was launched, police found a T-shirt that one of the inmates was wearing. The inmates were believed to be on foot. Police used search dogs, a search plane and enlisted the help of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Southwestern University Police Department.
They were captured without incident at about 6:15 p.m. local time, police said.
The names and crimes of the two inmates were not immediately available, but some of the most serious crimes among the group were robbery and domestic violence, police said.
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