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'Escaped' Murderer Found in Prison Ductwork

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A double murderer believed to have escaped from a Canadian prison almost two months ago didn't get far -- he was found hiding in the prison's ventilation system, authorities said on Friday.


Raymond Tudor, 48, went missing from the Drumheller medium-security penitentiary in southern Alberta on March 26, prompting a series of alerts from police to be on the lookout for the inmate, who is serving a life sentence for two counts of second-degree murder.

But prison authorities never found an escape route.

Officials began to wonder if Tudor might still be in the institution when a guard on Tuesday spied someone hiding in one of the prison's industrial shops.

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police tracking dog discovered him late Thursday, and he was apprehended without incident, officials said.

"What we theorize at this point is that the offender was able to move to different areas of this complex through the ventilation system and by different holes that were made in the walls between some of the shop areas," said Tim Krause, spokesman for Canada's federal correctional service.

The would-be escapee is believed to have had help from one or more other inmates who brought him food over the seven weeks he was unaccounted for. "Other than having lost 30 pounds (14 kilograms), he appeared to be in good health," Krause said.

Tudor is scheduled to appear in court on May 24 on an attempted escape charge.

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