Inmate flees mom’s funeral and gets 900 miles away in cuffs, Mississippi officials say
A Mississippi inmate who got away from guards while being escorted to his mother’s funeral has been caught — nearly 900 miles away, according to corrections officials.
Authorities captured 33-year-old Garnett Hughes in northern Ohio on Tuesday after a five-day search, the Mississippi Department of Corrections said in a statement. U.S. Marshals, who aided in the arrest, said Hughes was still wearing one of his handcuffs.
He’s gotten away from guards at least twice before, The Clarion Ledger reported, and escaped yet again as a pair of officers escorted him to the funeral service in Belzoni, Mississippi, on the morning of Sept. 10. Hughes was serving multiple life sentences for kidnapping and sexual battery at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility in Meridian, about 90 miles east of Jackson.
It’s unclear if Hughes made it to his mom’s funeral. McClatchy News reached out to the MDOC on Thursday and is awaiting a response.
This story was originally published September 16, 2021 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Inmate flees mom’s funeral and gets 900 miles away in cuffs, Mississippi officials say."