Eric James & Santos Carrera
Law enforcement agencies across the state are warning people of two Kansas prison escapees who could be on the loose in Nebraska.
Police in North Platte say one of four inmates who escaped from a Kansas jail Wednesday morning walked into a North Platte Wal-Mart to turn himself in Wednesday evening.
Sgt. Gary Hovey of the North Platte Police Department says that escapee Drew Wade, 21, walked into the local Wal-Mart to turn himself in. He told authorities he had phoned his father, who persuaded him to stop running.
Hovey said Wade approached the Wal-Mart manager and asked the manager to call police.
Wade remains in Lincoln County Jail on charges that include possession of stolen property.
Wade and three other inmates escaped early Wednesday from the Ottawa County Jail in Minneapolis, Kansas. One was quickly apprehended.
The other two subjects, 22-year-old Santos Carrera-Morales and 22-year-old Eric James are still at large. They are believed to be either on foot or in a 2002 gold Nissan Altima with Kansas license plates.
Carrera-Morales was serving time for two counts of 1st Degree Murder in 2007. James was convicted of aggravated burglary and kidnapping in 2008.
Both subjects are considered armed and dangerous. Police in both North Platte and Hastings have received reports of sightings, but no sightings have been confirmed.
Although authorities do not know whether the fugitives are, they urge people to be aware and call 911 if the men are spotted.
Department of Corrections spokesman Jeremy Barclay says the 18
inmates who were being held at the Ottawa County Jail because of
state prison overcrowding have been returned to a state facility in
Ellsworth.
Barclay says the move is temporary as the department investigates the escape and reassesses placing inmates in the jail.
Kansas allows some county jails to house prison inmates under state contracts to help alleviate prison overcrowding.
