Bac Tien Duong, one of the three men who escaped from a maximum-security prison in Southern California last week, is back in custody after he voluntarily turned himself in, officials say. The two other men remain at-large.
Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said Duong, 43, was taken into custody just before 12 p.m. PT on Friday after going to a location in the city of Santa Ana, not far from the prison where he and two other inmates escaped. A local business owner said Duong had arrived at the business and asked to see an acquaintance, saying he wanted to turn himself in.
It was not immediately known what prompted Duong to turn himself in, and the whereabouts of the two other escapees remain unknown.
Duong, Jonathan Tieu, and Hossein Nayeri escaped from the Orange County Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana on January 22. Investigators believe that the two remaining fugitives, Tieu and Nayeri, may be traveling in a white, 2008 GMC Savana utility vehicle. They have urged communities in the region to remain vigilant and to call 911 immediately if they see the fugitives or the van they are looking for.
Authorities say the men, who are accused of unrelated crimes, ranging from kidnapping to attempted murder, cut through a quarter-inch-thick metal screen behind their bunk beds in a dormitory-style cell they were sharing. The men then made their way through that hole into plumbing tunnels, up onto an unsecured area of the prison’s roof, and then down about five floors to the ground using rope made out of bed sheets and prison clothes.
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