Regional Public Journalism
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Two Inmates Who Escaped Minimum Security Prison Near Olympia Captured

Washington State Department of Corrections
Richard Harvell, 30, and Sage Bear, 26, were discovered missing from a Washington state prison facility Saturday night.

Two inmates who escaped from a minimum security work camp near Olympia were captured Sunday afternoon in Capitol State Forest.

Richard Harvell, 30, and Sage Bear, 26, were arrested without incident, according to Jeremy Barclay, a spokesman for the Washington Department of Corrections. "It was a safe and peaceful apprehension," Barclay said.

The pair had made it about six miles from the Cedar Creek Corrections Center which is located at the edge of Capitol Forest southwest of Olympia. "Getting through six miles of forest, they were a little tired," Barclay said.

Both also sustained minor injuries from having scaled a 10 foot fence with razor wire to escape. 

Harvell and Bear were discovered missing Saturday evening following a 10 p.m. count.

Bear was finishing a 10 year sentence for first degree manslaughter and was scheduled to be released next July. Harvell was serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for unlawful possession of a firearm and had a 2019 release date.

Both inmates had arrived at Cedar Creek within the last month.

The escapees were captured following a search by inmate recovery teams from the Department of Corrections and deputies from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.

Cedar Creek camp opened in 1954 and houses about 480 minimum security inmates.

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy, as well as the Washington State Legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia."