Escaped N.W.T. prisoner captured

A jail inmate in Hay River, N.W.T., is back in custody after he escaped on Thursday.

Nathan Mark Betsedea, a 22-year-old originally from Fort Simpson, N.W.T., walked out the front door of the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre and fled late Thursday night.

The inmate, who also goes by the name Jonathan Mark Betsedea, was captured at 11:15 a.m. MT on Friday, walking on the highway about 25 kilometres south of Hay River, according to RCMP.

The South Mackenzie Correctional Centre is a minimum-security jail where inmates can walk freely between the main building and a nearby outdoor trailer, deputy warden Quinn Groenheyde told CBC News.

"Betsedea obviously made a decision to walk right out of our building and leave the grounds and go into town. This doesn't happen very often," Groenheyde said Friday.

Betsedea will be charged with escaping lawful custody when he appears in court at a later date, according to RCMP.

Groenheyde said Betsedea will be transferred to the North Slave Correctional Centre in Yellowknife, which is a more secure facility.

While Betsedea was on the run, people in Hay River were warned not to approach him because he has an extensive criminal record, according to police.