MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) - An inmate was caught less than an hour after escaping from the state Work Ethic Camp in McCook, officials said.
Ryan Lykens left the camp just before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Nebraska Correctional Services Department said in a news release. Staffers had noticed that razor wire along the fence line had been pushed aside, and they followed tracks in the snow to a nearby canyon.
Lykens refused several orders to stop and surrender after he was spotted, the department said, so staffers used pepper spray on him. Deputies soon arrived and took him into custody.
Lykens has been serving time for possession of a deadly weapon, domestic assault and terroristic threats in Douglas County.
The Work Ethic Camp is a minimum-security facility. Inmates are allowed to work in the community with intermittent supervision.