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Another Indiana Prison Escapee Caught

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Another Indiana Prison Escapee Caught

Rapist Lance Battreal Caught In Rockport, Ind.

ROCKPORT, Ind. (CBS) ― Authorities say the second of three escapees from an Indiana State Prison were caught early Tuesday in southern Indiana.

State prison system spokesman Doug Garrison says convicted rapist Lance Battreal was arrested about 1 a.m. Tuesday at his parents' home in Rockport.

As CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports, Battreal traveled over 200 miles before his brief burst of freedom came to an abrupt end.

Battreal, 45, was asleep when federal marshals and police officers arrived and offered no resistance.

"Information was developed yesterday that he might be (at his parents' house) last night," U.S. Marshal Dave Murtaugh said on Tuesday morning. "We went there this morning, and did locate him asleep at his parents' residence."

As of 6:30 a.m Battreal was at the Henderson County Jail in Kentucky, Rockport police Chief Sheldon Tharp said.

Battreal, along with convicted murderers Charles Smith, 48, and Mark Booher, 46, escaped July 12 from the maximum-security prison in Michigan City. Smith was captured the following day in the nearby town of Grand Beach, Mich., close to Mayor Richard M. Daley's vacation home. 

Newly-released surveillance tape shows Battreal and Smith shortly after they escaped from the prison. The security video shows them at a Phillips 66 gas station in Michigan City, apparently shopping at the convenience store.

Booher remains at large.

Battreal's whereabouts were discovered thanks to a tip from the public, and authorities are relying on tips to find Booher, Murtaugh said. Anyone with information about Booher is asked to call their local police department, although authorities emphasize that Booher should be considered dangerous.

The prisoners escaped by following city sewage pipes and emerged from a manhole outside the prison.

Three Indiana State Prison guards were suspended for failing to properly supervise the inmates. Investigators claimed the guards did not keep a close enough watch over the inmates.

The prisoners had worked in the utility tunnels that they maneuvered through in Sunday's escape at the prison outside Michigan City.

Battreal was sentenced in 1998 to 50 years in prison for rape, as well as a concurrent 20 years for criminal confinement and a consecutive three years for stalking.

Booher was sentenced in 1999 to 65 years in prison for murder and a consecutive 20 years for robbery. His projected release date was May 11, 2041.

Smith was sentenced in 1999 to 95 years in prison for murder and was projected to be released on May 31, 2045.

CBS 2's Susan Carlson, the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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