CRAWFORD COUNTY, MI — An inmate who escaped a Michigan jail Monday has been arrested, according to sheriff's officials.
Casey Jo Helsel escaped from the Crawford County Jail through a door that had been left propped open at roughly 1:30 p.m. Monday, officials said.
Officials said he stripped off his orange jail jumpsuit and ran into a swampy, wooded area behind the Grayling Country Club wearing a white t-shirt and undershorts.
Police searched the area with an infrared (FLIR) camera from a helicopter and found Helsel hiding beneath logs and debris in the woods.
The wooded area, where Helsel was found and arrested roughly three hours after he escaped, is less than a mile from the jail.
His criminal history includes fleeing, resisting and obstructing police, larceny in a building, drug possession and auto theft, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records.
Crawford County Sheriff Ryan Swope said during a news conference that a jail worker unintentionally left open the door. The door is commonly used by workers to move items in and out of the jail.
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