Escaped N.C. prisoner abducts woman, forces her to help him flee before being captured

The inmate was originally at the Rutherford Correctional Facility but was transferred to the Marion Correctional Institution to be a work release inmate, deputies said

February 11, 2024 08:00 AM

Jail — Responders from various agencies — U.S. Marshals Service, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and several local law enforcement departments — joined in the search for the escaped prisoner, according to the sheriff’s office.

By Makiya Seminera
The Charlotte Observer

MARION, N.C. — An escaped prisoner sent law enforcement on a search spanning several miles in North Carolina, officials said.

The man was working by a maintenance shed at Marion Correctional Institution when he walked off the prison grounds on Wednesday, Feb. 7, according to a news release from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. It wasn’t until a staff member went to check on him at about 11:35 a.m. that they noticed he was missing, according to the department.

While making his escape, the Leicester man broke into a Marion woman’s home and abducted her, according to a Feb. 7 McDowell County Sheriff’s Office news release. He then forced her to take him to Asheville, deputies said.

Once the two arrived, the man released the woman and ran into a wooded part of Asheville, according to the sheriff’s office.

Responders from various agencies — U.S. Marshals Service, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and several local law enforcement departments — joined in the search for the escaped prisoner, according to the sheriff’s office.

He was found in the woods in Asheville and arrested, deputies said. He was returned to prison at about 4:20 p.m. after being missing for approximately five hours, authorities said.

The man was serving a 10-year sentence for a Buncombe County drug trafficking conviction in 2022, officials said. He was considered a “low level offender,” according to the sheriff’s office.

He was originally at the Rutherford Correctional Facility but was transferred to the Marion Correctional Institution to be a work release inmate, deputies said.

His estimated release date was April 27, 2028, according to state officials.

The man will now face escape charges as well, authorities said.

The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Feb. 8 about whether he would face additional charges.

The investigation into his escape is ongoing, according to the sheriff’s office.

Marion is about 35 miles northeast of Asheville.

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