Maryland
Escaped Maryland inmate taken into custody, after hours-long search – WTOP News
Randy Morris, who was incarcerated for burglary, escaped at around 8:30 a.m. nearby Dorsey Run Road and Route 32 at around 8:30 a.m.
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, Maryland State Police told WTOP in an email.
Officials said 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 he was not secured while being transported.
Maryland State Police announced on social media at 6:08 p.m. that Morris had been caught and is now in custody.
A few hours before police announced that Morris had been taken into custody, a news crew reported spotting the escaped convict.
August 16, 2023 | Kata Amara telling WTOP about the sighting of an escaped Maryland inmate
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 she and her partner 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 the man started 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!’”
Amara added, “It’s not every day that something like that happens when you’re out in the field.”
Updated photo of escaped inmate Randy Morris from @MDSP: pic.twitter.com/0SKYIjWroa
— Howard County Police Department (@HCPDNews) August 16, 2023
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.
Here’s a map of the area where police said Morris escaped.
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