Police capture three inmates who escaped out vent shaft of Alabama jail

Published 10:27 pm Monday, May 25, 2020

Three men who escaped from a west Alabama jail have been recaptured.

The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office tells The Tuscaloosa News that 38-year-old Richard Lancaster was found hiding under a mobile home in Northport on Sunday afternoon.

Lancaster got out from the Tuscaloosa County Jail on Friday, along with Seth Schuyler Williams and Cameron Keith Newell. The three are believed to have escaped through a vent shaft on the roof.

The timing of the escapes is still unclear, but officials believe Williams and Newell first got out, with Lancaster leaving through the open vent shaft later. Williams and Newell were captured in Fultondale late Saturday night.

A tracking dog led deputies to Lancaster, who surrendered.

Lancaster was spotted Saturday and again Sunday morning in the neighborhood where he was found.