An escaped inmate from Wyoming and the correctional facility employee accused of helping him break out were hiding face-down while wearing “full camo” behind a pond dam in Monroe County when they were caught Friday, authorities said.
Richard Fountaine, 29, and his alleged accomplice, Kimberly Belcher, 25, were caught just before 1 p.m. near a pond in the area of Ga. 42 and Johnstonville Road, Monroe County Sheriff’s Lt. Chad Beck said in a news conference.
Law enforcement officers found the two wearing camouflage and hoodies on a slope behind a pond dam, attempting to hide, Beck said. They were taken into custody without incident.
Fountaine was serving a burglary sentence of three to five years at the Casper Re-Entry Center when he escaped Dec. 28, AJC.com previously reported. He was sentenced in June 2017, according to Wyoming Department of Corrections records.
RELATED: Escaped inmate from Wyoming, alleged accomplice captured in Middle Georgia
Wyoming DOC spokesman Mark Horan told AJC.com the Casper Re-Entry Center is privately contracted, and Fountaine was in a secure unit at the facility when he escaped.
Belcher is accused of giving him a cellphone while he was at the facility, and he allegedly climbed a wall and chain-link fence to escape.
Moncia Hook, spokeswoman for the correctional facility, sent AJC.com a statement about the incident that said:
“GEO Reentry works closely with the Wyoming Department of Corrections in the operation of the Casper Reentry Center, a minimum-security facility. We have cooperated fully with law enforcement and the DOC and are pleased that the individual who absconded is back in custody.”
The duo were spotted near the Logwall Church Area, which is located near Ga. 42, earlier this week after an alleged burglary, authorities said. The sheriff’s office said there’s “no information to suggest that they have family here.”
It’s unknown how they evaded authorities to get across the country to Georgia, but Beck said the vehicle they recovered in Monroe County was not associated with Fountaine and wouldn’t have set off red flags had authorities tagged it.
Beck said the duo will face charges in Georgia, but he didn’t specify what those will be. It’s also unknown when the two will be extradited back to Wyoming.
In other news:
About the Author
