Murderer escaped Ionia prison by blending with snow, prying fences with bare hands

Convicted murderer Michael David Elliot used his hands to pry open two perimeter fences at the Ionia Correctional Facility and escaped Sunday night, prompting a nationwide alert and an intense manhunt that stretched into late Monday when he was caught in Indiana.

The 40-year-old, who was behind bars for two decades, was captured in a stolen car in rural La Porte County.

Elliot escaped wearing a white kitchen uniform, helping him to blend in with the snow as he avoided detection by a guard who drove past him at least twice, coming within 20 feet at one point.

Related: Police arrest convicted murderer in Indiana after escape from Ionia prison, 2-state manhunt

Related: Gov. Snyder: Action planned to prevent future prison escapes

Elliot made his escape when other inmates headed for a meal. Authorities said he spent about an hour working his way through two fences, breaking through at 7 p.m. It appears he targeted a vulnerable spot, said Russ Marlan, a Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman.

Officials said Elliot was discovered missing around 9:15 p.m. Sunday during a formal count. Marlan said the department is launching a full-scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape.

Elliot made a clean escape. Motion detectors never sensed Elliot, who escaped through fencing close to a unmanned sally port gun tower staffed only when vehicle traffic is going in or out of the facility, Marlan said.

Authorities said they believe Elliot trudged through fields and a wooded area between the corrections facility and the city of Ionia, where he abducted a woman about 8 p.m., using a box cutter to threaten and abduct her in her red Jeep Liberty.

He left Ionia with his captive and drove across the border to Middlebury, Ind., where he stopped for gas, police said. When he went in to pay, the victim called 911 using a cell phone Elliot didnt know she had. It was shortly before midnight.

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Murderer escaped Ionia prison by blending with snow, prying fences with bare hands