Mississippi prison inmate captured after running out of gas during escape, officials say

By Amy Simonson, CNN

A convicted murderer who escaped from a Mississippi prison was captured Tuesday after he ran out of gas, according to prison officials.

Michael Wilson was captured by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department after escaping Saturday from the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County, Burl Cain, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, said at a news conference.

Police captured Wilson after the 2007 blue Buick LeSabre he allegedly carjacked ran out of gas.

Wilson initially fled the prison on foot after being mistakenly held in minimum security custody instead of maximum security, Cain said.

The fugitive hopped over a 12-foot razor wire fence early Saturday and cut himself in the process. He solicited an ambulance and “told the guy there that he was an FBI agent, and he wrecked his motorcycle, and he was bleeding,” Cain said. He was then transported to a hospital.

After he left the hospital, Wilson went to an auto parts store, where Cain said he was bleeding profusely, prompting employees to call the police. Wilson used an alias and told police he had been in a car wreck.

Cain said Wilson was transported by ambulance again to the University of Mississippi Medical Center where he was treated and released.

Wilson was finally arrested Tuesday in Harrison County by the sheriff’s office after he assaulted a woman in Jackson County and carjacked a car, officials said.

Authorities were still piecing together the rest of Wilson’s whereabouts during his escape, Cain said at the news conference.

“The timeline is far, far too long and it’s unacceptable,” Cain said, noting a dozen employees are on administrative leave pending disciplinary action.

“We made mistakes,” he said. “We’re going to ensure the public and so forth that we won’t make those mistakes again because we have taken corrective action.”

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