An escaped prisoner in Mississippi forgot one crucial thing in his getaway attempt — fuel.
Michael Wilson, 51, escaped from Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County on Saturday, only to be caught in Harrison County on Tuesday, several counties away.
A woman picked up Wilson and gave him a ride, said Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain in a press conference. The woman noticed Wilson consistently looking at her gas gauge, which led her to believe he would probably carjack her. “They had a little bit of an altercation, not much, in the car. He took the car away from her,” Cain said.
OTTAWA POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS AMID CRITICISM OF HIS HANDLING OF TRUCKER PROTESTS
CAPTURED: State Escapee Michael Floyd Wilson pic.twitter.com/pTTpHLGbjh
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The woman ran down the road, got a ride, and called the police soon after, Cain noted. Harrison County Sheriff deputies immediately began pursuing Wilson, who eventually coasted to a stop due to insufficient gas. He was then arrested without incident.
Wilson cut himself on razor wire during his attempted escape, Cain said. This injury caught someone else’s attention, who noted the injury while on the road. Wilson told the person that he was an FBI agent and had been in a motorcycle accident, which earned him a ride in a local ambulance to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He left the hospital but was still bleeding afterward.
He then headed to an O’Reilly Auto Parts store in Richland, Missouri, to ask for directions to a homeless shelter. The store employees called police to assist Wilson, who gave the officers a false alias. He was then escorted back to the hospital for treatment. While U.S. Marshals were able to track Wilson for a short time on Sunday, he was not caught until Tuesday.
A dozen employees at the correctional facility are on administrative leave pending disciplinary action, including management of the facility, Cain said. The facility is still under investigation.
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Wilson was taken back to CMCF for interviews, but he will be moved to Walnut Grove Correctional Facility afterward for security purposes, Cain said.
Wilson was serving two life sentences for beating two men to death in 2014, according to WAPT. He has escaped twice before, once in 2001 and once in 2018.
