Police call off search for prison escapees; will resume Fridayby Troy Kehoe (tkehoe@wsbt.com)
Police searched by helicopter and by land for a prison escapee who was reportedly spotted in Michigan City Thursday. (WSBT photo) MICHIGAN CITY — The search for an escapee from the Indiana State Prison was called off late Thursday, but only after another massive manhunt by land and air for more than five hours. MultimediaPolice were looking for Lance Battreal, 45. The convicted rapist escaped Sunday from the prison along with Mark Booher, 46, and Charles Smith, 49, both of whom are convicted murderers. Smith was captured Monday near Grand Beach, Mich. Booher and Battreal remain at large. That's hasn't made sleep easy for Erica Cooper. She lives in the area where police conducted their search Thursday. "I sit at home and just listen to my scanner all day," she said. For a third straight day, more than 100 officers from eight different police departments teamed up with U.S. Marshals to look for the men. They searched on foot, with canines by their side and by air. This time, the search centered in a one square mile area, southwest of Springland Avenue and Karwick Road. It began just after 8:30 a.m. when South Shore maintenance workers spotted something odd. "They saw an individual, very disheveled looking in the area, and they said it was very unusual to see someone in that area because it's very muddy, very boggy, very hard to get around. And when he was seen, he went back into the area," John Schrader, a spokesman for the Indiana State Prison. Police briefly searched the immediate area, but found nothing. The next sighting came just after 2 p.m. It was the same description. Then a third sighting, this time from an Indiana State Police detective. "He heard some noise, saw some movement, then saw again, a white male, disheveled. He was told to stop and the individual took off running," Schrader said. That sparked the manhunt, through extremely tough terrain. "Very dense, very wooded, very difficult to see, very easy for someone to hide," Schrader said. He said it's impossible to predict the behavior of these individuals. Still, police are not taking any chances, and neither are those living nearby. "We're locking our doors and windows, making sure there's nothing in the car sitting overnight, making sure no one's gotten in there," said Adam Bluhm, who lives nearby. His hope now is that the search will be over soon. Police hope so, too. That's why this search will begin again Friday morning, though likely on a smaller scale. Most PopularMore Good Stuff |
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