Escaped MI Inmate Caught Hiding In Swampy Area: Police

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.