A Maryland prison inmate who escaped a transport van in Howard County early Wednesday has been taken into custody after an hours-long search, Maryland State Police say.
The inmate, identified by authorities as 38-year-old Randy James Morris, escaped the van around 8:30 a.m. when it was stopped near Dorsey Run Road and Route 32, state police officials told WTOP via an email.
Morris was being transported to a medical appointment from the Jessup Correctional Institute at the time along with four other inmates.
All the other inmates have been accounted for. Police say Morris was not wearing handcuffs and was not secured while being transported.
Maryland State Police announced on social media just after 6 p.m. that Morris had been caught and is now in custody.
Before Morris had been taken into custody, a local news crew reported spotting the escaped convict.
Kate Amara, a reporter from WBAL-TV, told WTOP that she and photographer Mac Finney believe they saw a man matching his description while they were in the field after finishing a live broadcast from the scene shortly after 4 p.m.
Amara said they saw a man that looked like Morris while reporting where police had been searching earlier in the day. When her partner asked him for his name, he said it was “Morris” and then “James Morris,” before running away. Amara said she pulled out her phone to start recording, and the news team called 911.
Amara said a construction crew and other “good Samaritans” also tracked the man. “You hear yelling in the distance, like ‘Oh, he’s over here — over here!'”
“It’s not every day that something like that happens when you’re out in the field,” she said.
Maryland State Police led the search for Morris, with Anne Arundel County and Howard County officers assisting them. Police said the search was both on foot and using drones.
