One of five Missouri jail inmates who escaped this week through the building’s ventilation and plumbing system has been recaptured, the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department said Friday.
Michael Wilkins was arrested in Poplar Bluff, which is around 70 miles south of the Farmington detention center they escaped from, the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
Wilkins had been held on charges of second-degree burglary and a probation violation, the U.S. Marshals Service has said.
Wilkins and the four other men escaped Tuesday night, officials have said.
It is believed they gained access to the jail’s rooftop through a "plumbing chase," which is a space in a building that houses plumbing and other pipes, and then made their way to the ground, according to the sheriff’s department.
The men were able to enter a secured cell and force open a door in the jail around 7 p.m. Tuesday on their way to the roof of the building, the sheriff’s department has said.
They were seen on video stealing a 2009 Toyota Scion from a nearby business, according to the department.
Still on the loose are Kelly McSean; Dakota Pace; Aaron Sebastian; and LuJuan Tucker.
Wilkins was apprehended at Mike’s Resale, a business in Poplar Bluff, around 10:30 a.m. Friday, Poplar Bluff Police Chief Michael McClain said.
The St. Francois County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that Wilkins was returned to the detention center and is being held without bond.
Poplar Bluff is a city of around 16,000 in southeast Missouri.
