FORKS — An Olympic Corrections Center inmate who escaped from the facility late Tuesday was returned to custody today.
James Edward Russell, 39, escaped from the minimal security prison 25 miles south of Forks sometime between 10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., said state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Rowlanda Cawthon.
Corrections officers arrested him at about 8 a.m., possibly near the Hoh River Resort.
Cawthon said she didn’t know how he escaped or where he was taken back into custody.
The arrest came after he fled the resort, 14 miles from the prison.
The officers became aware he was at the resort at 3 a.m., Cawthon said.
“He reportedly contacted someone and told them he was there,” she said.
Russell was not there when officers arrived, Cawthon said.
She said he fled the resort after knocking on a guest’s door. It did not appear that he had checked into the resort, she said.
Russell was serving a three-year sentence for forgery and theft in Lewis County.
He began his sentence in April.
