BENTON CO., Miss. — A Mississippi inmate who escaped after asking jail officials for permission to take a bathroom break while being transported from one facility to another was captured Tuesday, authorities said.
According to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Kurtis Elkins, 33, was captured at a hotel in the northern Mississippi city of Holly Springs on Tuesday, WREG-TV reported.
The sheriff’s office said that Elkins slipped away from authorities at about 11 a.m. CDT, according to WHBQ-TV.
A Mississippi inmate who escaped after requesting a bathroom break during transport from Benton County to Marshall County was captured Tuesday. https://t.co/UC2Dl4bXTm
— WREG News Channel 3 (@3onyourside) July 26, 2023
Elkins was being transferred to the Marshall County Jail from Benton County for violation of probation charges when he made his escape on State Highway 4, according to WREG.
The sheriff’s office said that Elkins told a state corrections officer that he needed to use the restroom and fled the area after the Mississippi Department of Corrections employee pulled over to the side of the road, the television station.
Officials said that Elkins was wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and was wearing handcuffs attached to a leather restraint belt. He was not considered dangerous, but dozens of deputies and K-9 officers searched a large wooded area for the fugitive on Monday, WREG reported.
He was captured the next day.