One of three inmates who escaped from the Indiana State Prison has been caught in a nearby southwestern Michigan town by a security guard for Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.
Grand Beach, Mich., Police Chief Dan Schroeder tells The Associated Press that two of the inmates were spotted in the town and one of them was taken into custody. Schroeder says the inmate identified himself as 48-year-old Charles Smith of New Castle, who was convicted of murder.
He says a Grand Beach police officer got a call before 7 a.m. Monday that a private security guard for Daley was holding at gunpoint in a private driveway near the mayor’s house in the town about eight miles from the prison.
Prison officials say the men were found missing about 10 a.m. Sunday. Officers from the Indiana State Police and other agencies have concentrated their search in neighborhoods surrounding the prison.
They say the escapees include two New Castle men convicted of murder: Charles Smith and Mark Booher. The third escapee is convicted rapist Lance Battreal of Rockport. All three are white men in their 40s.
Authorities say it appears the three escaped by getting past bars in the tunnels and pipe chases under the grounds of the prison about 30 miles west of South Bend.