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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:

Lindsay Nichols, PSCOA, Public Relations

Phone:  717-975-0138

Fax:  717-975-0167

Email:  lnichols@pscoa.org

Website:  www.pscoa.org

Manhunt for Escaped Inmate

Wayne County, PA, U.S.—September 25, 2002—An inmate from Lackawanna County Prisons Work Release Program, abandoned the work program grounds Monday September 23, 2002 around 11:30a.m.  He then was apprehended by a search team from the State Correctional Institution of Waymart, who was accompanied by another Law Enforcement Officer.

The incident began when staff from the Work Release program realized the inmate had not reported back to them.  The inmate had been a part of the program for about four days.  Lackawanna Prison Officials determined the inmate was at the Blue Stone Motel on Route 6 in Waymart, PA.

A manhunt was implemented by the Lackawanna County Prison Officials directly after the information of the inmate’s escape.  While in the area of the Blue Stone Motel; the manhunt was directed to a wooded area near the inn. 

When the manhunt was implemented, Lackawanna County Officials dispatched for help to the following locations around 12:27p.m.:  Pennsylvania State Police, the State Correctional Institution of Waymart, Wayne County Police Station, and Wayne County Sheriffs Department.

The 14 members of the State Correctional Institution of Waymart were broken down into two search teams once they arrived at the staging area.  The Corrections Officers from the State Correctional Institution of Waymart were unarmed, while the other Law Enforcement Officer was.  Some members of the two search teams from the State Correctional Institution of Waymart were members of the CERT Team (Corrections Emergency Response Team), but the majority of the members were regular Corrections Officers; the Corrections Officers were performing their duty to serve and protect the public.

At 1:00p.m., one of the squad teams located the inmate in the wooded area surrounded by brush.  He was apprehended and detained without lethal force, until Police Officers from Lackawanna County arrived at the scene. 

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