List of prison escapes
Famous historical escapes
Famous historical escapes
-------------------------

There have been many infamous escapes throughout history:

### 13th century

* In 1244, whilst imprisoned in the [Tower of London](/wiki/Tower_of_London "Tower of London"), [Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr](/wiki/Gruffydd_ap_Llywelyn_Fawr "Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr") crafted a makeshift rope made of bed sheets and cloths, lowered it, and climbed down. However, due to his weight, the rope broke and he slipped to his death.

### 17th century

* In 1621 Dutch author [Hugo de Groot](/wiki/Hugo_de_Groot "Hugo de Groot") escaped from [Loevestein Castle](/wiki/Loevestein "Loevestein"), where he was held captive, by hiding himself inside a book chest. He was then smuggled outside.

### 18th century

* Englishman [Jack Sheppard](/wiki/Jack_Sheppard "Jack Sheppard") took to theft and burglary in 1723, and was arrested and imprisoned five times in 1724 but escaped four times, making him a notorious public figure and wildly popular with the poorer classes.
* The Italian author and adventurer [Giacomo Casanova](/wiki/Giacomo_Casanova "Giacomo Casanova") escaped from prison in 1757\.
* In 1781, [Samuel Smedley](/wiki/Samuel_Smedley "Samuel Smedley") was imprisoned in Old Mill Prison in Portsmouth, England. Smedley eventually escaped.
* [Eugène\-François Vidocq](/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Fran%C3%A7ois_Vidocq "Eugène François Vidocq") a French criminal turned [criminalist](/wiki/Forensic_science "Forensic science"), and considered to be the father of modern criminology and of the French national police force, escaped multiple times in 1795 \- 1796 over the course of a few weeks at the age of 20 while in captivity with the help of Francine, but was always captured soon again. He is also regarded as the first [private detective](/wiki/Private_investigator "Private investigator"). The former criminal became the founder and first director of France's first criminal investigative agency, the [Sûreté Nationale](/wiki/National_Police_%28France%29 "National Police (France)"), as well as the head of the first known [private detective agency](/wiki/Private_investigator "Private investigator").

### 19th century

[upright\=1\.35\|thumb\|Morgan and his officers escaping](/wiki/File:Famous_adventures_and_prison_escapes_of_the_civil_war_%281893%29_%2814573020789%29.jpg "Famous adventures and prison escapes of the civil war (1893) (14573020789).jpg")
* On 27 November 1863, [John Hunt Morgan](/wiki/John_Hunt_Morgan "John Hunt Morgan") and six of his officers, most notably [Thomas Hines](/wiki/Thomas_Hines "Thomas Hines"), escaped from their cells in the [Ohio Penitentiary](/wiki/Ohio_Penitentiary "Ohio Penitentiary") by digging a tunnel from Hines' cell into the inner yard and then ascending a wall with a rope made from bunk coverlets and a bent poker iron.
* In the [Libby Prison escape](/wiki/Libby_Prison_escape "Libby Prison escape"), during the [American Civil War](/wiki/American_Civil_War "American Civil War"), over 109 [Union](/wiki/Union_%28American_Civil_War%29 "Union (American Civil War)") [POWs](/wiki/POWs "POWs") broke out of a building at [Libby Prison](/wiki/Libby_Prison "Libby Prison") in [Richmond, Virginia](/wiki/Richmond%2C_Virginia "Richmond, Virginia") on the night between 9 February – 10 February 1864\. Fifty\-nine of the 109 prisoners successfully made it back to the Union lines; two were drowned in the nearby [James River](/wiki/James_River_%28Virginia%29 "James River (Virginia)"), and forty\-eight were recaptured.
* Anarchist activist [Peter Kropotkin](/wiki/Peter_Kropotkin "Peter Kropotkin") managed to escape from a low\-security prison in [St. Petersburg](/wiki/St._Petersburg "St. Petersburg"). He hid himself in one of the finest restaurants there and later moved to England.
* The notorious outlaw [Billy the Kid](/wiki/Billy_the_Kid "Billy the Kid") managed to escape from prison in 1881, but was captured and shot by [Pat Garrett](/wiki/Pat_Garrett "Pat Garrett") only a few months later.
* Italian brigand [Giuseppe Musolino](/wiki/Giuseppe_Musolino "Giuseppe Musolino") escaped from prison in 1899, subsequently going on a killing spree targeted against those who testified against him at his first trial. He was recaptured in 1901\.

### 1900–1949

* In 1901, [Lum You](/wiki/Lum_You "Lum You") was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by a [Pacific County, Washington](/wiki/Pacific_County%2C_Washington "Pacific County, Washington") court. He enjoyed great public sympathy, including from county officials, who supposedly allowed him to escape by leaving his cell door unlocked at night. He eventually seized the opportunity, but within a few days he either gave himself up or was recaptured.
* German Naval Air Service Kapitänleutnant [Gunther Plüschow](/wiki/Gunther_Pl%C3%BCschow "Gunther Plüschow") escaped from the [Donington Hall](/wiki/Donington_Hall "Donington Hall") [prisoner of war camp](/wiki/Prisoner_of_war_camp "Prisoner of war camp") in 1915\.
* [Frederick Mors](/wiki/Frederick_Mors "Frederick Mors"), an Austrian\-born American serial killer, was declared insane and placed into the Matteawan Institution for the Insane in the United States in 1915\. He escaped in 1916 and was never seen again but supposedly resurfaced in Connecticut in 1917\. His body was possibly found in 1923 and identified as a suicide.
* In 1921, at age 22 [Victor Folke Nelson](/wiki/Victor_Folke_Nelson "Victor Folke Nelson") made a sensational and highly publicized run and escape"Victor F. Nelson Eludes Pursuers." *Boston Evening Globe*. 12 May 1921\. from a line of 13 prisoners after attending chapel at the [Charlestown State Prison](/wiki/Charlestown_State_Prison "Charlestown State Prison"). Despite an attempted intervening tackle from a prisoner trusty and bullets from a guard's gun, Nelson ran some distance, leapt, caught the lower end of the window bars, and scaled the 40\-foot high wall of the prison's Cherry Hill section.Merrill, Anthony. "The Man Who Broke Charlestown". *Boston Sunday Advertiser Green Magazine*. 17 December 1939\. At the top of the wall, he performed "what was always believed an impossible stunt: throwing his body across a 10\-foot space to the wall,""Back in Prison After Restful Sojourn Here". *Daily Springfield Republican*. 12 September 1921\. where he managed to catch hold of the coping of a nearby structure and then to drop 30 feet down to the Boston and Maine railroad tracks."Victor F. Nelson, Notorious Ex\-Convict, Believed Poisoned". *The Boston Herald*. 10 December 1939\. He was convinced to volitionally return to prison by his respected mentor and progressive penologist [Thomas Mott Osborne](/wiki/Thomas_Mott_Osborne "Thomas Mott Osborne") several months later."Movie Made Escaped Convict Go Back to Charleston Prison". *The Boston Sunday Post*. 17 December 1939\.
* In 1922, an [IRA](/wiki/Irish_Republican_Army_%281919%E2%80%931922%29 "Irish Republican Army (1919–1922)") bomb blew a hole in the wall of the Jail in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. 106 IRA prisoners escaped. A few weeks later, these same prisoners returned fully armed, and took over the whole prison, freeing remaining prisoners.
* Leonard T. Fristoe was born 15 January 1893 and was imprisoned for double murder in 1920 of two Sheriff's deputies in Nevada.[ODMP memorial](https://www.odmp.org/officer/17466-constable-arthur-j-st-clair) He escaped from Carson State Prison, Nevada, in 1923 after seizing an opportunity to escape after he and another inmate drove the police warden to a brothel. He lived for 47 years under the alias of Claude R. Willis, before being turned in by his son, Claude R. Willis Jr, after an argument. He stated that he only killed the deputies because they fired at him first, and also confessed to killing a man named Rowe in Curero, Texas, about two years after his escape. After serving 5 months in prison, the Nevada Pardon Board ordered he be released from Carson State Prison, despite the fact he had only served 3 years of the life sentence given to him in 1920\. Whilst the chairman of the board, Gov. Paul Laxalt, disagreed with the killings of the two deputies, he saw no point in keeping a frail old man in jail, stating that 5 months behind bars is psychologically years for a 77\-year\-old man. He died of a respiratory infection on 13 March 1976 in Denver City, Texas.
* [John Dillinger](/wiki/John_Dillinger "John Dillinger") served time at the Indiana State Penitentiary at Michigan City, until 1933, when he was paroled. Within four months, he was back in jail in [Lima, Ohio](/wiki/Lima%2C_Ohio "Lima, Ohio"), but his gang sprang him, killing the jailer, Sheriff Jessie Sarber. Most of the gang was captured again by the end of the year in [Tucson, Arizona](/wiki/Tucson%2C_Arizona "Tucson, Arizona"), due to a fire at the Historic Hotel Congress. Dillinger alone was sent to the Lake County jail in [Crown Point, Indiana](/wiki/Crown_Point%2C_Indiana "Crown Point, Indiana"). He was to face trial for the suspected killing of police officer William O'Malley during a bank shootout in [East Chicago, Indiana](/wiki/East_Chicago%2C_Indiana "East Chicago, Indiana"), some time after his escape from jail. During this time on trial, a famous photograph was taken of Dillinger putting his arm on prosecutor Robert Estill's shoulder when suggested to him by reporters.
* On 3 March 1934, Dillinger escaped from the "escape\-proof" (as it was dubbed by local authorities at the time) Crown Point, Indiana county jail, which was guarded by many police officers and national guardsmen. Newspapers reported that Dillinger had escaped using a fake gun made from wood, blackened and shined with shoe polish.
* French prisoner [René Belbenoît](/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Belbeno%C3%AEt "René Belbenoît") escaped from the penal colony of [French Guiana](/wiki/French_Guiana "French Guiana") on 2 March 1935, when he and five others took to the sea with a boat they had bought. After a series of daring adventures, during which all of the other escapees were captured, he reached the United States in 1937\. In 1938 his account, *Dry Guillotine*, was published. Belbenoît had written it in French and it was translated in English by Preston Rambo. It went through 14 printings in less than a year.
* Japanese prisoner [Yoshie Shiratori](/wiki/Yoshie_Shiratori "Yoshie Shiratori") broke out of prison four times, first from Aomori Prison (1936\), Akita Prison (1942\), [Abashiri Prison](/wiki/Abashiri_Prison "Abashiri Prison") (1944\), and Sapporo Prison (1947\). A novel and TV\-drama *Hagoku* was based on his true story.
* [Fort San Cristóbal](/wiki/Fort_San_Crist%C3%B3bal_%28Spain%29 "Fort San Cristóbal (Spain)") is located on the top of the mountain San Cristóbal, which is very close (4 km) to [Pamplona](/wiki/Pamplona "Pamplona"), [Spain](/wiki/Spain "Spain"). Built inside the mountain, it served as a prison despite the fact that it had been obsolete since its opening in 1919, due to its weakness against aviation. On 22 May 1938, during the [Spanish Civil War](/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War "Spanish Civil War"), around 30 prisoners organised a mutiny for a massive prison break. 792 prisoners fled but only three succeeded in getting to the [French](/wiki/France "France") border; 585 were arrested, 211 died and 14 of the arrested who were considered the leaders were sentenced to death. Most fugitives were intercepted during the following days. In 1988, a sculpture was erected to honour the memory of the prisoners who died there. The fort ceased to be a prison in 1945\.
* [Colditz Castle](/wiki/Colditz_Castle "Colditz Castle") was used as an "escape\-proof" prisoner\-of\-war camp during [World War II](/wiki/World_War_II "World War II"), but over the course of 300 escape attempts, 130 prisoners escaped. Thirty escapees eventually managed to reach friendly territory. The men had tunneled, disguised themselves as guards, workmen or women, sneaked away through sewer drains, and even built a glider in a plan to get over the wall.
* [André Devigny](/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Devigny "André Devigny"), a French resistance fighter during World War II, escaped [Montluc Military Prison](/wiki/Fort_Montluc "Fort Montluc") in Lyons with his cellmate in April 1943\.
* French author [Henri Charrière](/wiki/Henri_Charri%C3%A8re "Henri Charrière") tried to escape in vain several times, but eventually was successful in 1943\. His story, *[Papillon](/wiki/Papillon_%28book%29 "Papillon (book)")*, was published and filmed [under the same name](/wiki/Papillon_%281973_film%29 "Papillon (1973 film)").
* In [the Great Escape](/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III "Stalag Luft III"), 76 Allied POWs (primarily Commonwealth airmen) escaped from [Stalag Luft III](/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III "Stalag Luft III") during World War II. 73 of the escapees were captured and fifty of them were executed by the [Gestapo](/wiki/Gestapo "Gestapo"), while only three succeeded in reaching neutral territories.
* In the [Cowra breakout](/wiki/Cowra_breakout "Cowra breakout"), at least 545 out of 1,004 Japanese POWs escaped from Number 12 POW Compound at Cowra, Australia, on the night of 4 August 1944\. Out of the roughly 500 escapees, 231 died and 108 were wounded. 31 killed themselves and 12 were burnt to death in huts set on fire by the Japanese. Sixteen of the wounded showed signs of attempted suicide.
* In the [Latrun Prison break](/wiki/Latrun_Prison_break "Latrun Prison break"), 20 members of the Jewish terrorist group [Lehi](/wiki/Lehi_%28militant_group%29 "Lehi (militant group)") escaped from Latrun prison camp in [Latrun](/wiki/Latrun "Latrun"), [Mandatory Palestine](/wiki/Mandatory_Palestine "Mandatory Palestine") (now [Israel](/wiki/Israel "Israel")), through a 76 meter long tunnel on the night of 31 October 1943\.
* 97 Italians escaped from Camp 14 at [Doonfoot](/wiki/Doonfoot "Doonfoot"), Ayr, Scotland, on 15 December 1944\. When the Italian fascist regime in Italy collapsed in July 1943 the new Italian Government signed an armistice with the Allies. Most Italian POWs held in the UK were released back into the command of Italy but a few were identified as committed fascists and were detained at Camp 14\. After some unrest in the camp the large scale breakout occurred through a short tunnel. They were all recaptured within a week.
* In the [Great Papago Escape](/wiki/Great_Papago_Escape "Great Papago Escape"), over 25 German POWs escaped by tunneling out of [Camp Papago Park POW facility](/wiki/Camp_Papago_Park "Camp Papago Park"), near [Phoenix, Arizona](/wiki/Phoenix%2C_Arizona "Phoenix, Arizona"), on the night of 23 December 1944\. They then fled into the surrounding desert but because the rivers in Arizona were mostly dry and had not been navigable for decades, most of them were recaptured without bloodshed over the next few weeks.
* In the [Acre Prison break](/wiki/Acre_Prison_break "Acre Prison break"), 28 members of the Jewish underground groups [Irgun](/wiki/Irgun "Irgun") and [Lehi](/wiki/Lehi_%28militant_group%29 "Lehi (militant group)") escaped from [Acre Prison](/wiki/Acre_Prison "Acre Prison") in [Acre](/wiki/Acre%2C_Israel "Acre, Israel"), [Mandatory Palestine](/wiki/Mandatory_Palestine "Mandatory Palestine") (now [Israel](/wiki/Israel "Israel")) on 4 May 1947\.
* 12 members of the Jewish terrorist groups [Irgun](/wiki/Irgun "Irgun") and [Lehi](/wiki/Lehi_%28militant_group%29 "Lehi (militant group)") escaped from the central prison (today the [Museum of Underground Prisoners](/wiki/Museum_of_Underground_Prisoners "Museum of Underground Prisoners")) in [Jerusalem](/wiki/Jerusalem "Jerusalem"), [Mandatory Palestine](/wiki/Mandatory_Palestine "Mandatory Palestine"), on 20 February 1948\.

### 1950–1983

* In 1955, serial killer [Edward Edwards](/wiki/Edward_Edwards_%28serial_killer%29 "Edward Edwards (serial killer)") pushed past a guard and escaped from an [Akron](/wiki/Akron%2C_Ohio "Akron, Ohio"), [Ohio](/wiki/Ohio "Ohio") jail while being held on burglary charges. By 1961, he was on the [FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list](/wiki/FBI_Ten_Most_Wanted_Fugitives%2C_1960s "FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1960s"). Edwards was captured in Atlanta, Georgia on 20 January 1962\.
* In 1955, [John Patrick Hannan](/wiki/John_Patrick_Hannan "John Patrick Hannan") escaped from [HM Prison The Verne](/wiki/HM_Prison_The_Verne "HM Prison The Verne") on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England, having spent 30 days of a 21\-month sentence for vehicle theft and assaulting two police officers. As of 2023, he would be aged 90 and is still outstanding, making him perhaps the world's longest prison fugitive, overtaking the title of American double killer Leonard Fristoe's record of 45 years and 11 months as a fugitive.
* In 1959, [Frank Freshwaters](/wiki/Frank_Freshwaters "Frank Freshwaters") escaped from an Ohio prison while serving a sentence of involuntary manslaughter from a 1957 car accident. After 56 years he was arrested in Florida.[IB Tribune](http://www.ibtimes.com/shawshank-redemption-real-frank-freshwater-captured-after-56-years-run-fugitive-1910767)
* In the [Alcatraz escape on June 11, 1962](/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape "June 1962 Alcatraz escape"), American criminals brothers [John and Clarence Anglin](/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape%23John_and_Clarence_Anglin "June 1962 Alcatraz escape#John and Clarence Anglin"), and [Frank Morris](/wiki/Frank_Morris_%28prisoner%29 "Frank Morris (prisoner)") escaped [Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary](/wiki/Alcatraz_Federal_Penitentiary "Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary") on [Alcatraz Island](/wiki/Alcatraz_Island "Alcatraz Island") using an inflatable raft, never to be seen again. It was never determined by the [FBI](/wiki/FBI "FBI") whether they succeeded in their escape or died in the attempt.
* In 1966, serial killer [Monroe Hickson](/wiki/Monroe_Hickson "Monroe Hickson") escaped from the Manning Correctional Institution. In 1967, he was added on the [FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list](/wiki/FBI_Ten_Most_Wanted_Fugitives%2C_1960s "FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1960s"). The body of a deceased farm worker in Chapel Hill, North Carolina was confirmed to have been Hickson in 1968\.
* In 1971, a 45 meter long tunnel was dug and 111 political prisoners, including future [president](/wiki/President_of_Uruguay "President of Uruguay") [José Mujica](/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mujica "José Mujica"), escaped from the high security [Punta Carretas Penitentiary](/wiki/Punta_Carretas_Shopping "Punta Carretas Shopping") in [Montevideo](/wiki/Montevideo "Montevideo"), [Uruguay](/wiki/Uruguay "Uruguay"). It was the largest prison escape in history.
* In 1972, six political prisoners escaped from the prison at [Rawson](/wiki/Rawson%2C_Chubut "Rawson, Chubut"), [Argentina](/wiki/Argentina "Argentina"), and fled to neighbouring Chile in a hijacked plane. Nineteen escapees who arrived late to the airport were recaptured and sixteen of them later [executed](/wiki/Trelew_massacre "Trelew massacre").
* In 1973, three [Provisional Irish Republican Army](/wiki/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army "Provisional Irish Republican Army") prisoners escaped in the [Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape](/wiki/1973_Mountjoy_Prison_helicopter_escape "1973 Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape"), when a hijacked helicopter landed in the exercise yard at [Mountjoy Prison](/wiki/Mountjoy_Prison "Mountjoy Prison"), [Dublin](/wiki/Dublin "Dublin"), [Republic of Ireland](/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland "Republic of Ireland").
* In 1974, [Thomas Knight](/wiki/Thomas_Knight_%28murderer%29 "Thomas Knight (murderer)"), a man awaiting trial for a double murder, escaped from the [Miami\-Dade County](/wiki/Miami-Dade_County "Miami-Dade County") Jail, along with ten other prisoners. Eight of the eleven escapees were captured within two days but Knight remained a fugitive for over three months. While on the run, Knight committed another murder. He was captured in [New Smyrna Beach, Florida](/wiki/New_Smyrna_Beach%2C_Florida "New Smyrna Beach, Florida"), and later executed in 2014\.
* In 1975 [Billy Hayes](/wiki/Billy_Hayes_%28writer%29 "Billy Hayes (writer)"), a convicted [drug smuggler](/wiki/Drug_smuggler "Drug smuggler") escaped from [İmralı prison](/wiki/%C4%B0mral%C4%B1_prison "İmralı prison") on an island in the [Sea of Marmara](/wiki/Sea_of_Marmara "Sea of Marmara"), [Turkey](/wiki/Turkey "Turkey"), using a rowboat. He made his way to Greece, where he was eventually deported to the U.S. Hayes wrote a book on his experiences, *[Midnight Express](/wiki/Midnight_Express_%28book%29 "Midnight Express (book)")*, which was later adapted into the 1978 film [of the same name](/wiki/Midnight_Express_%28film%29 "Midnight Express (film)") starring [Brad Davis](/wiki/Brad_Davis_%28actor%29 "Brad Davis (actor)") as Hayes.
* On 5 April 1976, in the [Segovia prison break](/wiki/Segovia_prison_break "Segovia prison break"), twenty\-nine prisoners escaped from prison, in Spain's largest prison break since the [Spanish Civil War](/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War "Spanish Civil War"). The majority belonged to the [Basque](/wiki/Basque_nationalism "Basque nationalism") [separatist](/wiki/Separatism "Separatism") group [ETA](/wiki/ETA_%28separatist_group%29 "ETA (separatist group)"). The majority of prisoners were recaptured in shoot outs with the authorities in the next few days, during which one escapee was killed, though four managed to escape to France.
* On 10 June 1977, the convicted murderer of [Martin Luther King Jr.](/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr. "Martin Luther King Jr."), [James Earl Ray](/wiki/James_Earl_Ray "James Earl Ray"), escaped from [Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary](/wiki/Brushy_Mountain_State_Penitentiary "Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary") in Tennessee, along with six others. Ray was recaptured after two days. He had been running and hiding in the mountainous forest surrounding the prison.
* On 23 September 1977, a group of seven prisoners, including [Patrick Kimumwe](/wiki/Patrick_Kimumwe "Patrick Kimumwe"), escaped from the fortified compound of the [State Research Bureau](/wiki/State_Research_Bureau_%28organisation%29 "State Research Bureau (organisation)"), the Ugandan intelligence agency during the rule of [Idi Amin](/wiki/Idi_Amin "Idi Amin").
* Serial killer [Carlton Gary](/wiki/Carlton_Gary "Carlton Gary") escaped from a low\-security prison by sawing through the bars of his cell. Later on 15 March 1983, Gary escaped again from police custody.
* In 1977, convicted murderer James Robert Jones escaped from prison in Kansas, and lived in Florida for 37 years under the alias of Bruce Walter Keith. He was arrested in March 2014\. It is assumed that he used someone else's identity.
* On 30 December 1977, serial killer [Ted Bundy](/wiki/Ted_Bundy "Ted Bundy") escaped from prison while most of the guards were off for Christmas. He did so by sawing through the vent of his cell with a hacksaw blade, ending up in the chief jailer's apartment (who was away on Christmas break). He then stole some clothes from a closet and left the building. Earlier in June he escaped from a courthouse by jumping out a window in the court's law library.
* In 1979, [Assata Shakur](/wiki/Assata_Shakur "Assata Shakur") successfully escaped prison in Union, New Jersey when three members of the Black Liberation Army took prison guards as hostages, freed Shakur and fled in a prison van. No one was injured during the prison break, including the guards\-turned\-hostages who were left in the parking lot.
* On May 8, 1981, Željko Ražnatović, also known as [Arkan](/wiki/Arkan "Arkan"), escaped from the [Bijlmerbajes](/wiki/Bijlmerbajes "Bijlmerbajes") in Amsterdam. During his imprisonment, he obtained a gun, which facilitated his escape. Following this breakout, Arkan continued his criminal activities across Europe, including armed robberies in West Germany and Switzerland. He was frequently arrested and managed to escape multiple times from prisons in different countries, largely due to his connections with the Yugoslav secret police, who were rumored to have assisted him in these escapes.

### 1984–1999

* In 1984, Shakur escaped to Cuba where she gained political asylum. Shakur was moved to the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists List on 2 May 2013\.
* On 21 January 1980, three prisoners of [Basque](/wiki/Basque_nationalism "Basque nationalism") [separatist](/wiki/Separatism "Separatism") group ETA (pm) escaped from the prison of San Sebastian. They were: Izaskun Arrazola, Jesus Maria Salegi and Mikel Matxirena. They mingled with visiting relatives and walked out the front door.
* On 23 July 1980, [Zdzisław Najmrodzki](/wiki/Zdzis%C5%82aw_Najmrodzki "Zdzisław Najmrodzki"), had escaped from the prison in [Gliwice](/wiki/Gliwice "Gliwice"), [Poland](/wiki/Polish_People%27s_Republic "Polish People's Republic"), by jumping from the barred window. His crewmates had partially sawn off the bars a few days before the escape which allowed him to break them. Najmrodzki slid down the line outside the building and got to a motorcycle which was waiting for him. Overall, between 1974 and 1989, he had escaped in total 29 times from prisons and the authorities.*Do Rzeczy Historia*, no 8(66\)/2018, September 2018, pp. 40\-43\.
* On 11 April 1981, convicted murderer [Edward Dean Kennedy](/wiki/Edward_Dean_Kennedy "Edward Dean Kennedy") escaped from the Union Correctional Facility in Florida, and hours later he murdered a [state trooper](/wiki/State_trooper "State trooper") and the trooper's cousin. He was eventually recaptured, was sentenced to death and was executed in 1992\.
* On 2 March 1982 in [Peru](/wiki/Peru "Peru"), [PCP](/wiki/Shining_Path "Shining Path") guerilla fighters [assaulted the Ayacucho prison](/wiki/Assault_of_Ayacucho_prison "Assault of Ayacucho prison"), resulting in the release of 255 inmates.
* In the [1983 Batticaloa Jailbreak](/wiki/1983_Batticaloa_Jailbreak "1983 Batticaloa Jailbreak") on 23 September 1983, 41 [Tamil](/wiki/Tamil_people "Tamil people") political prisoners and 151 criminal prisoners escaped in eastern [Sri Lanka](/wiki/Sri_Lanka "Sri Lanka").
* In the [Maze Prison escape](/wiki/Maze_Prison_escape "Maze Prison escape") on 25 September 1983, 38 [Provisional Irish Republican Army](/wiki/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army "Provisional Irish Republican Army") members escaped from [HMP Maze](/wiki/HMP_Maze "HMP Maze") in [Northern Ireland](/wiki/Northern_Ireland "Northern Ireland"), the biggest prison escape in Irish or British history.
* On January 18, 1985, Ludwig Fresco, a convicted drug dealer, escaped from the [Hague Penitentiary Institution](/wiki/Hague_Penitentiary_Institution "Hague Penitentiary Institution") by impersonating his own lawyer. He acquired clothing and accessories to disguise himself as an attorney, likely with the help of accomplices. Fresco managed to deceive the prison guards, who believed he was a legitimate lawyer visiting a client. He simply walked out of the prison in his disguise, leading to increased scrutiny and changes in prison security protocols.
* On 7 July 1985, in prison of San Sebastian two prisoners escaped: [Joseba Sarrionandia](/wiki/Joseba_Sarrionandia "Joseba Sarrionandia") and Iñaki Pikabea. Both of them belonged to the [Basque](/wiki/Basque_nationalism "Basque nationalism") [separatist](/wiki/Separatism "Separatism") group [ETA](/wiki/ETA_%28separatist_group%29 "ETA (separatist group)") and they managed to escape as there was a concert in the jail with Basque singer [Imanol Larzabal](/wiki/Imanol_Larzabal "Imanol Larzabal"). They hid themselves inside two loudspeakers. The [Basque Radical Rock](/wiki/Basque_Radical_Rock "Basque Radical Rock") group Kortatu created the song Sarri, Sarri in honor of this escape, which became a big hit. The escape was planned with theater critic Mikel Albisu, who would become the leader of ETA. He drove the van when they escaped. During three months, the two fugitives and Antza were hiding in a flat in San Sebastián, before moving to France. Since that day Sarrionandia has lived exiled in secret during more than 30 years and the topic of exile is foremost in his writings.
* On 3 September 1989, [Zdzisław Najmrodzki](/wiki/Zdzis%C5%82aw_Najmrodzki "Zdzisław Najmrodzki") again escaped from the prison in [Gliwice](/wiki/Gliwice "Gliwice"), [Poland](/wiki/Polish_People%27s_Republic "Polish People's Republic"), via a tunnel. While walking at the prison yard, he had fallen underground into the tunnel, dug over the course of 3 weeks by his mother and a crewmate. From the tunnel, he had got to the motorcycle prepared for him outside the prison.
* In 1984, six death row inmates, including the [Briley Brothers](/wiki/Briley_Brothers "Briley Brothers") (Linwood and James), escaped [Mecklenburg Correctional Center](/wiki/Mecklenburg_Correctional_Center "Mecklenburg Correctional Center"), making it the largest mass death row escape in American history. All were recaptured within 18 days, and all six men would eventually be executed. The final execution took place in 1996\.
* On 4 December 1986, [William Scott Day](/wiki/William_Scott_Day "William Scott Day") escaped a psychiatric center in [Ypsilanti, Michigan](/wiki/Ypsilanti%2C_Michigan "Ypsilanti, Michigan"), then embarking on a killing spree in several states spanning 39 days. He was eventually re\-captured and sentenced to life imprisonment in [Tennessee](/wiki/Tennessee "Tennessee"), which he served until his death in 2006\.
* In November 1987 Peter Thomson aged 19 at the time escaped from Winchester Prison. During a 2\-hour window of opportunity, Peter Thomson broke out from the education wing onto the grounds and promptly made his way over the prison wall. A large\-scale search was made of the surrounding area, but he was never found.
* On 7 March 1993, [Peter Gibb](/wiki/Peter_Gibb "Peter Gibb") and Archie Butterley escaped from the [Melbourne Remand Centre](/wiki/HM_Melbourne_Assessment_Prison "HM Melbourne Assessment Prison") in Australia, with the help of prison guard Heather Parker who was having a relationship with Gibb. Police found Butterley shot dead six days later and re\-captured Gibb.
* On July 12, 1993, Ferdi Elsas, the man convicted for the kidnapping and murder of [Gerrit Jan Heijn](/wiki/Gerrit_Jan_Heijn "Gerrit Jan Heijn"), escaped from [Schutterswei (gevangenis)](/wiki/Schutterswei_%28gevangenis%29 "Schutterswei (gevangenis)"). He sawed through the bars of his cell window and used a makeshift rope made from bedsheets to lower himself to the ground. Elsas managed to evade capture for a short period. However, he was quickly recaptured and returned to custody.
* In 1993, ten prisoners escaped from Pārlielupe prison in [Jelgava](/wiki/Jelgava "Jelgava"), [Latvia](/wiki/Latvia "Latvia"). The following year, 95 prisoners escaped through a tunnel they had excavated. As of August 2005, four prisoners, two from each of the escapes, were still at large.
* In 1994 Arthur Rudy Martinez, an inmate serving a life sentence after being convicted of numerous rapes and robberies, escaped from a Washington State prison and eluded capture for nearly two decades. He later turned himself in to authorities after being diagnosed with cancer in an attempt to take advantage of free medical care he would receive in prison. He died two months later.
* [Trikala](/wiki/Trikala "Trikala"), [Greece](/wiki/Greece "Greece"), on 23 May 1995, Albanian inmates staged a daring escape from an old Turkish administration building\-turned\-prison, using weight dumbbells to break the locks of the gates and bed springs as a ladder to scale the wall. 29 prisoners escaped, and about half of them absconded to [Albania](/wiki/Albania "Albania") and were never recaptured. Only Albanian inmates escaped, having kept escape plans secret from the prison's international population.
* On 17 March 1995, in Sublette, Kansas Dawn Amos, Douglas Winter and David Spain escaped in the early morning hours after shooting Sheriff Deputy, Irvin Powell twice. The trio later fled to Colorado where an elderly man was kidnapped and later released unharmed. Powell later died of his injuries in an Oklahoma City hospital three days later.
* In the [1995 Vellore Fort Jailbreak](/wiki/1995_Vellore_Fort_Jailbreak "1995 Vellore Fort Jailbreak") on 15 August 1995, 43 [Tamil Tiger](/wiki/Tamil_Tigers "Tamil Tigers") inmates escaped from [Vellore Fort](/wiki/Vellore_Fort "Vellore Fort") prison in India.
* On 27 August 1995, multiple prisoners escaped from [Vridsløselille Prison](/wiki/Vridsl%C3%B8selille_Prison "Vridsløselille Prison") in [Copenhagen](/wiki/Copenhagen "Copenhagen"), [Denmark](/wiki/Denmark "Denmark") after a bulldozer was driven into the prison wall.
* In January 1997, the "Pittsburgh Six" escaped from the [State Correctional Institution](/wiki/State_Correctional_Institution_%E2%80%93_Pittsburgh "State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh") in [Pittsburgh](/wiki/Pittsburgh "Pittsburgh") via tunnel. All inmates were caught after twelve days.
* In January 1997, Korean criminal [Shin Chang\-won](/wiki/Shin_Chang-won "Shin Chang-won") escaped from Busan Prison in South Korea.
* In April 1998, the Belgian child molester [Marc Dutroux](/wiki/Marc_Dutroux "Marc Dutroux") managed to escape for several hours. He was caught the same afternoon, but the incident forced two politicians to resign and deepened the loss of faith in the Belgian judicial system.
* [Martin Gurule](/wiki/Martin_Gurule "Martin Gurule") escaped from the Texas Death Row at [Ellis Unit](/wiki/Ellis_Unit "Ellis Unit") on 26 November 1998\. He was shot during his escape and died the same night but his body wasn't found until a week later.
* In 1999, [Leslie Dale Martin](/wiki/Leslie_Dale_Martin "Leslie Dale Martin") and three other inmates on [Louisiana](/wiki/Louisiana "Louisiana")'s [death row](/wiki/Death_row "Death row") escaped from their cells at the [Louisiana State Penitentiary](/wiki/Louisiana_State_Penitentiary "Louisiana State Penitentiary"). They were caught within hours, before they even managed to escape prison grounds. The four men had managed the escape with the use of [hacksaws](/wiki/Hacksaws "Hacksaws") that had been smuggled in for them by a bribed corrections officer. Other officers were inattentive to the inmates' two to three week effort at cutting their cell doors and window. After the escape, two corrections officers were fired and two others were demoted. Two corrections officers later overheard Martin plotting another escape, which included taking hostages and commandeering a vehicle to ram the prison's front gates. Martin was immediately moved to the holding cell outside the [death chamber](/wiki/Death_chamber "Death chamber"), a month before his [execution](/wiki/Execution "Execution") in 2002\.

### 2000–2011

* The [Texas 7](/wiki/Texas_Seven "Texas Seven") escaped from [John B. Connally Unit](/wiki/John_B._Connally_Unit "John B. Connally Unit") on 13 December 2000\. Six of them were captured after over a month and a half on the run; the seventh killed himself before being captured.
* In January 2001, three inmates escaped from Chicago State Penitentiary's H\-Unit (Hi\-Max). One of them was injured during the escape, and while trying to get back into the prison, he got caught in the razor between the fences. The other two offenders (one serving a life sentence for murder, the other for rape and kidnapping) were at large for several days before being apprehended in a small town approximately  from the prison.
* In New York, convicted murderers Timothy A. Vail and Timothy G. Morgan escaped from Elmira State Penitentiary in July 2003; both were recaptured in two days.
* [Colton Harris\-Moore](/wiki/Colton_Harris-Moore "Colton Harris-Moore") fled a three\-year sentence by walking out of a [halfway house](/wiki/Halfway_house "Halfway house") in April 2008\. On 11 July 2010, he was captured at [Harbour Island, Bahamas](/wiki/Harbour_Island%2C_Bahamas "Harbour Island, Bahamas") and sent back to [Seattle](/wiki/Seattle "Seattle").
* The [Sarposa Prison attack](/wiki/Sarposa_Prison_attack "Sarposa Prison attack") was a raid on the [Kandahar detention facility](/wiki/Kandahar_detention_facility "Kandahar detention facility") in [Kandahar](/wiki/Kandahar "Kandahar"), [Afghanistan](/wiki/Afghanistan "Afghanistan") by [Taliban](/wiki/Taliban "Taliban") insurgents on 13 June 2008\. One of the largest attacks by Afghan insurgents, the raid freed 400–1000 prisoners.
* On 4 August 2008, [Sarah Jo Pender](/wiki/Sarah_Jo_Pender "Sarah Jo Pender") escaped from [Rockville Correctional Facility](/wiki/Rockville_Correctional_Facility "Rockville Correctional Facility") with the help of prison guard Scott Spitler, who was expecting a $15,000 payment. She remained on the run for four months.
* Eight inmates charged with violent crimes [escaped from the Curry County Adult Detention Center](/wiki/Clovis%2C_New_Mexico_jail_break "Clovis, New Mexico jail break") in [Clovis](/wiki/Clovis%2C_New_Mexico "Clovis, New Mexico"), [New Mexico](/wiki/New_Mexico "New Mexico") on 24 August 2008\. The men escaped by climbing prison pipes in a narrow space inside a wall, then using homemade instruments to cut a hole in the roof. The jailbreak was featured on a 6 September episode of *[America's Most Wanted](/wiki/America%27s_Most_Wanted "America's Most Wanted")*. As of October 2010, convicted murderer Edward Salas was the only inmate still at large. Salas was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday, 4 October 2012, in Chihuahua City, Mexico, and was extradited back to New Mexico.
* Lance Battreal, Charles Smith, and Mark Booher escaped from a [Michigan City, Indiana](/wiki/Michigan_City%2C_Indiana "Michigan City, Indiana") prison on 12 July 2009, through tunnels under the prison yard. Smith was captured on 20 July 2009, near Chicago Mayor [Richard M. Daley](/wiki/Richard_M._Daley "Richard M. Daley")'s vacation home in [Grand Beach](/wiki/Grand_Beach%2C_Michigan "Grand Beach, Michigan"), [Michigan](/wiki/Michigan "Michigan").["One Henry County killer caught near Chicago mayors home"](http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20090714/NEWS01/907140306) *[The Star Press](/wiki/The_Star_Press "The Star Press")* Retrieved on 2009\-07\-23 Battreal was captured on 21 July 2009, at his mother's house in [Rockport, Indiana](/wiki/Rockport%2C_Indiana "Rockport, Indiana"). Booher was captured on 23 July 2009, in a hotel in [Indianapolis](/wiki/Indianapolis "Indianapolis"), [Indiana](/wiki/Indiana "Indiana").
* On 30 March 2010, three inmates, Quentin Truehill, Kentrell Johnson, and Peter Hughes escaped from Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Office in Mansura, Louisiana after holding an officer hostage. They went on a crime spree through Louisiana and Florida that included multiple robberies and thefts, and all three participated in the kidnap and murder of Florida State University grad student, Vincent Binder. They were ultimately apprehended nearly two weeks after the escape in Miami, Florida. Hughes and Johnson are currently serving life in prison for Binder's murder, and Truehill is sitting on Florida's death row for the same offense.
* Three inmates at an [Arizona](/wiki/Arizona_State_Prison_-_Kingman "Arizona State Prison - Kingman") for\-profit [Management and Training Corporation](/wiki/Management_and_Training_Corporation "Management and Training Corporation")\-operated facility escaped on 30 July 2010\. Daniel Renwick and Tracy Province were murderers and John McCluskey had been convicted of attempted murders. Renwick was captured in a shootout in Rifle, Colorado on 1 August 2010\. Though he still had 32 years on his sentence in Arizona, he was sentenced to 60 years to be served in Colorado. Province, already a lifer, was captured on 9 August 2010, in Meeteetse, Wyoming. After being sentenced to 38 1/3 years in Arizona, he was quickly extradited to face murder charges in New Mexico. McCluskey, who had been doing consecutive 15\-year sentences, was captured with Casslyn Welch, his cousin/accomplice, in eastern Arizona on 19 August in the Apache\-Sitgreaves National Forest. He was sentenced to 43 years in an Arizona prison on escape, kidnap, hijacking, and robbery charges. Like Province, Welch, and McCluskey were soon extradited for the alleged robbery, hijack, and murder of two vacationers in New Mexico. [Kenneth John Gonzales](/wiki/Kenneth_John_Gonzales "Kenneth John Gonzales"), the U.S. Attorney in New Mexico, filed death penalty charges against all three. McCluskey was convicted after a three\-month trial in Albuquerque on 7 October 2013, after Province and Welch testified against him, conditions of their plea bargains. The death penalty phase of the proceedings began on 21 October, but the jury delivered a sentence of life imprisonment for McCluskey, and Province received the same. Welch was sentenced to 40 years.

### 2012–2022

* On 28 August 2012, [Darnell Keith Washington](/wiki/Darnell_Keith_Washington "Darnell Keith Washington") escaped from the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center in San Bernardino County, California. The escape happened with the help of his wife, and they later went on a month\-long crime spree across southern California, consisting of multiple carjackings, robberies and one murder. The couple was recaptured in Washington state on 5 October, and were extradited to California. Tania was sentenced to 23\-years imprisonment in May 2016, and Darnell was sentenced to death months later.
* On 27 July 2013, 1,000 inmates escaped from the Queyfiya prison near [Benghazi](/wiki/Benghazi "Benghazi"), [Libya](/wiki/Libya "Libya"). The escape occurred after a wave of political assassinations and attacks on political offices around the country. Local residents of Benghazi forced the inmates out of the prison.
* In October 2013, Kevin Patrick Stoeser escaped from the Austin Transitional Center where he was serving the remainder of a 156\-month sentence for four counts of child sexual assault and one count of possession of child pornography. He had pleaded guilty to these charges in 2003\. He was never captured, but DNA\-confirmed remains of his skull were found near [Del Valle, Texas](/wiki/Del_Valle%2C_Texas "Del Valle, Texas") on 8 September 2014\.
* On 7 June 2014, Serge Pomerleau, 49, Denis Lefebvre, 53, and Yves Denis, 35, escaped from a Quebec detention center with help from a helicopter. The three men were arrested a couple of weeks later and returned to the same facility.
* On 8 June 2014, Robert Elbryan, 42, George Broussard, 64, and Christopher Boris, 52, escaped from a Quebec detention center with help from a helicopter. The three men were arrested a couple of weeks later and returned to the same facility.
* On 11 September 2014, T.J. Lane, 19, serving three life sentences for [indiscriminately killing fellow students at his Ohio high school in 2012](/wiki/2012_Chardon_High_School_shooting "2012 Chardon High School shooting"), Clifford E. Opperud, 45, serving 12 years for robbing, burglary and kidnapping, and Lindsey Bruce, 33, sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a 5\-year\-old girl, escaped [Allen\-Oakwood Correctional Institution](/wiki/Allen-Oakwood_Correctional_Institution "Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution") by scaling a fence. Bruce was captured a few minutes after the escape, Lane was apprehended about 5 hours, and Opperud about 8 hours later.
* On 23 January 2015, a [bomb went off at the Ara civil court premises](/wiki/Ara_Civil_Court_bombing "Ara Civil Court bombing") in Ara, India. The bomb, brought into the premises in a handbag, went off accidentally, killing three people. In the ensuing chaos, two prisoners escaped, the bomber's intended goal.
* On 6 June 2015, [Richard Matt](/wiki/Richard_Matt "Richard Matt"), 48, and David Sweat, 34, were [discovered missing](/wiki/2015_Clinton_Correctional_Facility_escape "2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape") from the [Clinton Correctional Facility](/wiki/Clinton_Correctional_Facility "Clinton Correctional Facility") in [Dannemora, New York](/wiki/Dannemora_%28village%29%2C_New_York "Dannemora (village), New York") during a headcount at 5:30am. An "external breach" was found on a street approximately 500 feet south of the prison wall. Both inmates had been convicted of murder. Richard Matt was shot dead on 26 June 2015, near Lake Titus in Upstate New York. Two days later on 28 June 2015, David Sweat was captured just miles from the Canada–US border, shot twice before being taken to a local hospital.
* In June 2015, two convicts escaped maximum security in the [Tihar Prison Complex](/wiki/Tihar_Jail "Tihar Jail") in [Delhi](/wiki/Delhi "Delhi"), [India](/wiki/India "India") by digging a tunnel under a wall and scaling [it](https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/Two-undertrials-escape-from-Tihar-by-digging-tunnel-one-caught/article60169897.ece)
* On 11 July 2015, Mexican drug lord [Joaquín Guzmán Loera](/wiki/Joaqu%C3%ADn_Guzm%C3%A1n "Joaquín Guzmán"), also known as "El Chapo", escaped from Federal Social Readaptation Center No.1, a maximum security prison. His escape involved an elaborate tunnel leading from the shower area in his cell stretching 1\.5 km to a house construction site. The shower area in his cell was not detectable to the security cameras, creating a blind spot. The tunnel lay 10 meters underground and was equipped with a ladder to climb to the bottom, artificial lights, air ducts, and various construction materials. A makeshift motorcycle was found in the tunnel, believed to have been used to excavate the tons of earth removed, transport materials, and Guzmán himself. An investigation and manhunt quickly followed. He was recaptured on 8 January 2016\.
* On 22 January 2016, three inmates [escaped](/wiki/Orange_County_Men%27s_Central_Jail_escape "Orange County Men's Central Jail escape") the [Orange County Men's Central Jail](/wiki/Orange_County_Sheriff%27s_Department_%28California%29%23Jails "Orange County Sheriff's Department (California)#Jails"), a maximum security jail in [Orange County, California](/wiki/Orange_County%2C_California "Orange County, California"). The three inmates (Jonathan Tieu, 20; Hossein Nayeri, 37; and Bac Tien Duong, 43\) cut through steel bars, made their way through plumbing tunnels, and used a makeshift rope made out of bedsheets to rappel down the multistory facility. Bac Tien Duong surrendered to police in Santa Ana CA on 29 January. The other two inmates, Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu were arrested in San Francisco on 30 January.
* On 7 November 2016, two inmates escaped [HMP Pentonville](/wiki/HMP_Pentonville "HMP Pentonville") in North London. The two inmates (Mathew Baker and James Whitlock) used diamond\-tipped cutting equipment to break through cell bars before they scaled the perimeter wall. They left mannequins in their beds to fool the prison guards. Two days later, Baker was found – with dyed hair and a fractured leg – hiding under a bed at his sister's home. Whitlock was found at an address in Homerton, east London, after six days on the run.
* On 21 December 2018, Allen Todd May escaped [FCI Englewood](/wiki/Federal_Correctional_Institution%2C_Englewood "Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood") using a government work truck and a fake drivers license which he used to simply drive off the prison grounds. He was recaptured on 1 August 2023 in [Fort Lauderdale, Florida](/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale%2C_Florida "Fort Lauderdale, Florida").
* On 5 April 2019, about 200 [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant](/wiki/The_Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant "The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant") detainees [revolted and attempted to escape from Dêrik prison](/wiki/D%C3%AArik_prison_escape_attempt "Dêrik prison escape attempt") in [al\-Malikiyah](/wiki/Al-Malikiyah "Al-Malikiyah"), [Syria](/wiki/Syria "Syria"). The breakout was foiled, and some of the prisoners were subsequently distributed to other detention centers.
* On 3 November 2019, Samuel Fonseka, 21, and Jonathan Salazar, 20, both convicted murderers, escaped from the Monterey County Jail, located in [Salinas, California](/wiki/Salinas%2C_California "Salinas, California"). The two men escaped after using a "hard\-plastic" cleaning brush to knock a hole in the restroom sheetrock ceiling. The hole was in a blindspot in the communal bathroom that could only be seen by someone inside the restroom. They then escaped by going through the 11\-inch\-wide hole, then through a maintenance gap between walls, and finally out a hatch that was kicked open, with the cameras nearby blocked by recent construction. After they escaped, they took off their jail suits; they were wearing street clothes underneath that allowed them to blend in as they headed to [Tijuana, Mexico](/wiki/Tijuana%2C_Mexico "Tijuana, Mexico"). Fonseca and Salazar had been in rival gangs and were not known to associate with each other before being housed in the same unit of the jail. Similarly, it is unknown why the two headed for Tijuana, how they made the 7\-hour trip, and why they tried to re\-enter the [United States](/wiki/United_States "United States") from [Mexico](/wiki/Mexico "Mexico") around midnight three days after their escape, only to be arrested by the [U.S. Marshals](/wiki/U.S._Marshals "U.S. Marshals") on the border. Fonseca was accused of killing two men over three days in Salinas in June 2018\. Salazar was arrested in the October 2017 shooting death of a Salinas man and the wounding of the man's wife while the couple drove in a Salinas neighborhood.
* On 16 April 2020, James Newman and Thomas Deering escaped the [Columbia Correctional Institution](/wiki/Columbia_Correctional_Institution_%28Wisconsin%29 "Columbia Correctional Institution (Wisconsin)") in Portage, Wisconsin. They were aided in their escape by a food service worker. They were captured the following morning in [Rockford, Illinois](/wiki/Rockford%2C_Illinois "Rockford, Illinois") after showing up at a homeless shelter looking for food and clothing. The founder of the shelter recognized the men and called police, stalling the escapees with coffee and cigarettes.
* On 6 September 2021, [Zakaria Zubeidi](/wiki/Zakaria_Zubeidi "Zakaria Zubeidi") and five other Palestinian militants [escaped](/wiki/Gilboa_Prison_break "Gilboa Prison break") by tunnel from [Gilboa Prison](/wiki/Gilboa_Prison "Gilboa Prison") in Israel.
* On 1 December 2021, a group of gangsters [broke into a prison](/wiki/2021_Tula_prison_break "2021 Tula prison break") in [Tula, Mexico](/wiki/Tula_de_Allende "Tula de Allende"), freeing nine inmates (including a drug lord) and injuring two law enforcement officers.

### 2022 – present

* On 29 April 2022, Alabama murder suspect [Casey White](/wiki/Casey_White "Casey White") managed to escape Lauderdale County Jail aided by correctional officer [Vicky White](/wiki/Vicky_White "Vicky White") (no relation). The two were captured in [Evansville, Indiana](/wiki/Evansville%2C_Indiana "Evansville, Indiana") on 9 May 2022\. Vicky died hours later that day from a self\-inflicted gunshot wound suffered just prior to capture.
* On 12 May 2022, [Gonzalo Lopez](/wiki/Gonzalo_Lopez "Gonzalo Lopez") assaulted a correctional officer while on a [Texas Department of Criminal Justice](/wiki/Texas_Department_of_Criminal_Justice "Texas Department of Criminal Justice") prison bus and escaped from custody near Centerville, Texas. On 2 June 2022, he killed a family of five in their home after several weeks on the run. He was shot dead by law enforcement shortly afterwards.
* In May 2022, convicted murderer and rapist [Thabo Bester](/wiki/Thabo_Bester "Thabo Bester") escaped from the [Mangaung Prison](/wiki/Mangaung_Prison "Mangaung Prison") in South Africa.'Priority is to get Thabo Bester behind bars as he's extremely dangerous': DCS (ewn.co.za)
* In November 2022, [Dritan Rexhepi](/wiki/Dritan_Rexhepi "Dritan Rexhepi") who has a history of escapes, broke out of a Prison in Ecuador and was apprehended by Turkish Law Enforcement in November 2023\.
* On 13 December 2022, [Roberto José Carmona](/wiki/Roberto_Jos%C3%A9_Carmona "Roberto José Carmona") escaped while on temporary leave to his wife's house in [Córdoba, Argentina](/wiki/C%C3%B3rdoba%2C_Argentina "Córdoba, Argentina"), before proceeding to kill a passing taxi driver and steal his cab. After crashing the car, he attacked and injured four others before being apprehended four hours later. Carmona had been convicted of abducting, raping and killing a teenager in 1986, and had killed two inmates in separate incidents in 1994 and 1997, respectively.
* On 1 January 2023, gunmen stormed a prison in [Ciudad Juárez](/wiki/Ciudad_Ju%C3%A1rez "Ciudad Juárez"), [Mexico](/wiki/Mexico "Mexico"), killing 10 prison guards and four inmates. Fourteen prisoners escaped after the raid.
* On 6 July 2023, Michael Burnham escaped from a prison in [Warren County, Pennsylvania](/wiki/Warren_County%2C_Pennsylvania "Warren County, Pennsylvania") he was later captured when a local dog sniffed him out in the woods in Warren County, Pennsylvania.
* At around 8:30am on 31 August 2023, convicted murderer [Danilo Cavalcante](/wiki/Danilo_Cavalcante "Danilo Cavalcante") escaped [Chester County Prison](/wiki/Chester_County_Prison "Chester County Prison") by [chimneying](/wiki/Chimneying "Chimneying") up to the roof of the building. He was captured nearly two weeks later in a forested area in South Coventry, also in Chester County about 25–30 miles away.
* On 6 September 2023, terror suspect awaiting trial [Daniel Khalife](/wiki/Prison_escape_of_Daniel_Khalife "Prison escape of Daniel Khalife") escaped from [Wandsworth Prison](/wiki/HM_Prison_Wandsworth "HM Prison Wandsworth") in London by strapping himself to the chassis of a food delivery truck. Khalife was recaptured three days later in [Northolt](/wiki/Northolt "Northolt"), West London.
* On 7 January 2024, [José Adolfo Macías Villamar](/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Adolfo_Mac%C3%ADas_Villamar "José Adolfo Macías Villamar"), leader of the organized crime group [Los Choneros](/wiki/Los_Choneros "Los Choneros"), escaped from prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
* On 2 and 3 March 2024, armed gangs [attacked two prisons in Haiti](/wiki/2024_Haitian_jailbreak "2024 Haitian jailbreak"), freeing thousands of prisoners.
* On 14 May 2024, an armed gang ambushed a prison convoy carrying a prisoner in Normandy, France. Two prison officers were killed and the prisoner, [Mohamed Amra](/wiki/Mohamed_Amra "Mohamed Amra"), was freed.
* [Rawalakot prison escape](/wiki/Rawalakot_prison_escape "Rawalakot prison escape")
* On 18 July 2024 [Graham Gomm escaped from custody](/wiki/Prison_escape_of_Graham_Gomm "Prison escape of Graham Gomm") whilst being transported to a hospital
* On 2 September 2024, hundreds of prisoners [attempted to escape](/wiki/2024_Makala_prison_jailbreak_attempt "2024 Makala prison jailbreak attempt") [Makala Central Prison](/wiki/Makala_Central_Prison "Makala Central Prison"), [Kinshasa](/wiki/Kinshasa "Kinshasa"), DR Congo; it was suppressed by guards, causing 129 deaths (by gunfire and by [stampede](/wiki/Stampede "Stampede")).

How did Michael Burnham get captured in 2023?