Escaped Bowden inmate quickly captured

A man who walked away from a prison wearing layers of clothing to protect himself from the cold was arrested shortly after his escape.

The man, 41, was serving an 11-year sentence at the Bowden Institution, 100 km north of Calgary, for breaking and entering, theft and extortion.

He had served four years at Bowden and was transferred Thursday to a minimum-security annex, which he walked away from at 11:14 p.m. that day.  Footsteps in the snow led south to the town of Bowden.

He was arrested, with the help of a dog unit, near the Bowden area shortly before midnight. He remains in RCMP custody, facing charges for being unlawfully at large and escaping lawful custody.

He had been scheduled for statutory release in 2011.

Temperatures dipped to –23 C on Thursday.