LINO LAKES, Minn. - An inmate who escaped a correctional facility, stole a transport van and led police on a multi-hour manhunt is back behind bars.
Authorities captured the inmate, identified as James Douglas Mitchell, around 4:30 p.m. on Interstate 35W, after a 911 caller spotted him in a Minneapolis park.
This was great work by 911 caller, @MnDPS_MSP and UofM PD who were able to nab him while MPD and DOC officers responded.
— Minneapolis Police (@MinneapolisPD) May 26, 2017
The Department of Corrections said Mitchell, 26, stole a 2011 white Ford van with Minnesota license plate 937 EPJ and escaped with eight offenders inside from the correctional facility in Lino Lakes.
DOC officials said the offenders were being transferred from the MCF-St. Cloud in a vehicle and made a stop at MCF-Lino Lakes, where Mitchell gained control of the vehicle.
At approximately 11:30 a.m., the DOC was notified by law enforcement that five offenders were captured in Mounds View -- Vance Erik Jourdain, Edward Washington, Shawn Lee Jackson, Anthony Dwayne Alexander and Dylan Cantrell Bathke.
About a half an hour later, police apprehended three more escaped inmates in north Minneapolis -- Mitchell Dale Saltzman, Paul Jerome Thunder and Kevin Ladell Mitchell. According to the Minneapolis Police, those three inmates were still handcuffed and sitting inside the stolen van. The van was recovered and searched near 38th and Thomas Avenue.
The prisoners located inside the van were captured after a resident became suspicious of the vehicle and called 911.
Images from SKY 11 showed the multi-passenger van parked in a driveway with the doors open and police vehicles littering the alley behind the house.
The eight offenders were taken into custody, while authorities searched for Mitchell in the north Minneapolis neighborhood, around Van Cleve Park and other areas before finding him on 35W.
