ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — Two prisoners who escaped from a maximum-security prison in Wisconsin have been recaptured in northern Illinois.
WREX-TV reports 37-year-old James Newman and 46-year-old Thomas Deering were taken into custody Friday in Rockford, about 90 miles south of the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin, that they fled on Thursday.
Rockford Police say both men arrived at a community center Friday morning. Staff at the center called police and the men were taken into custody.
Authorities say the pair escaped by climbing over two security fences. The escapees then went to a hotel and were taken by a cab to Poynette, Wisconsin. Investigators say the two already had left the Portage area before authorities were notified of their escape.
Online records show Deering was convicted of numerous charges in Milwaukee County including kidnapping, sexual assault and burglary. He was also convicted of battery by a prisoner in 2015 and an escape charge in 2002.
Newman has convictions for kidnapping, escape, theft and discharging a firearm.
--
PORTAGE (NBC 26) -- Wisconsin authorities say two prisoners have escaped from a prison in Portage.
Authorities are searching for 37-year-old James Newman and 46-year-old Thomas Deering. Portage police believe the men are headed to Madison.
Wisconsin's Department of Corrections say the men escaped from the Columbia Correctional Institution Thursday morning. The department says they are considered dangerous.
According to WISC-TV, residents in the area received automated phone calls about the prison escape around 6 a.m. Thursday. Portage police reported an "active incident" at the prison early Thursday morning.
Authorities did not say how the two escaped from the Columbia Correctional Institution.
Newman was found guilty of six charges of discharging a firearm in 2009 in Brown County, according to online court records. He was also found guilty of three felonies including escape, kidnapping, and theft in 2012 in Jackson County.
