Representational Image.
Washington:
A convicted murderer has been captured in the US state of North Carolina days after escaping from jail, allegedly with the help of a female prison worker, an official told AFP today.
The case mirrors another US prison breakout making international headlines, in which police conducted a weeks-long manhunt for two escaped killers in the state of New York, shooting one dead on Friday and catching the other alive Sunday.
Kristopher McNeil, the 29-year-old North Carolina escapee, was arrested just before 11 pm Sunday (0300 GMT today) walking along a highway near the southern state's Forsyth-Davidson county line, Department of Public Safety communications director Pamela Walker told AFP.
Concerned citizens recognized him and reported his whereabouts to authorities, she said, adding that "there was no struggle. He went into custody without incident."
McNeil, who was serving a 14-year sentence for second-degree murder, and who was scheduled for release in 2018, was discovered missing Saturday morning.
He is believed to have scaled a prison fence, according to a statement posted on the department's website.
A 33-year-old correctional officer, Kendra Lynette Miller, who had worked since December in the prison's food service, was charged Sunday for "sex with an inmate, providing an electronic device to an inmate, harboring a fugitive and aiding and abetting a fugitive," the department said.
Her bond was set at $500,000.
"We're extremely appreciative of the collaboration by law enforcement officers working with us," Walker said.
McNeil will face escape charges and will be held in a more secure environment, she added. He is being held for the moment at the Davidson County jail.
Meanwhile convicted murderer David Sweat, who escaped from a maximum-security New York prison three weeks ago, was shot and captured Sunday.
His capture wrapped up a multimillion-dollar manhunt in upstate New York after he and fellow inmate Richard Matt busted out of a correctional facility.
Matt was shot dead by a federal agent on Friday.
Two prison workers have been charged over the breakout, including Joyce Mitchell, who is accused with facilitating the escape by providing hacksaw blades and drill bits to the pair, hidden in hamburger meat.
Another worker, corrections officer Gene Palmer, has also been charged for his role.
The case mirrors another US prison breakout making international headlines, in which police conducted a weeks-long manhunt for two escaped killers in the state of New York, shooting one dead on Friday and catching the other alive Sunday.
Kristopher McNeil, the 29-year-old North Carolina escapee, was arrested just before 11 pm Sunday (0300 GMT today) walking along a highway near the southern state's Forsyth-Davidson county line, Department of Public Safety communications director Pamela Walker told AFP.
Concerned citizens recognized him and reported his whereabouts to authorities, she said, adding that "there was no struggle. He went into custody without incident."
McNeil, who was serving a 14-year sentence for second-degree murder, and who was scheduled for release in 2018, was discovered missing Saturday morning.
He is believed to have scaled a prison fence, according to a statement posted on the department's website.
A 33-year-old correctional officer, Kendra Lynette Miller, who had worked since December in the prison's food service, was charged Sunday for "sex with an inmate, providing an electronic device to an inmate, harboring a fugitive and aiding and abetting a fugitive," the department said.
Her bond was set at $500,000.
"We're extremely appreciative of the collaboration by law enforcement officers working with us," Walker said.
McNeil will face escape charges and will be held in a more secure environment, she added. He is being held for the moment at the Davidson County jail.
Meanwhile convicted murderer David Sweat, who escaped from a maximum-security New York prison three weeks ago, was shot and captured Sunday.
His capture wrapped up a multimillion-dollar manhunt in upstate New York after he and fellow inmate Richard Matt busted out of a correctional facility.
Matt was shot dead by a federal agent on Friday.
Two prison workers have been charged over the breakout, including Joyce Mitchell, who is accused with facilitating the escape by providing hacksaw blades and drill bits to the pair, hidden in hamburger meat.
Another worker, corrections officer Gene Palmer, has also been charged for his role.
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