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UPDATE

Clearfield Co., PA (WJAC) — An inmate who escaped the Clearfield County Jail on Tuesday has been captured.

On Wednesday, questions remained about how exactly he got away and what's being done to prevent something like this from happening again.

Tuesday at 1 p.m. is when authorities say 36-year-old Craig Hauke-Miller completed his escape from the county jail.

According to the affidavit, police say surveillance video reportedly showed Hauke-Miller climbing a door and then the roof of the jail in order to pull of the escape.

Clearfield County Commissioner Mary Tatum says the jail didn't realize he had escaped until a routine head count. That's when officials noticed they were down one person. A lockdown and a multi-agency manhunt followed.

Investigators say a note was also found in Hauke-Miller's cell that reportedly stated, "f*** you, I'm out!"

Hauke-Miller was in jail on robbery and assaulting law enforcement charges.

"It's believed that he found a vulnerability in the facility and he exploited that vulnerability," says the Clearfield County Jail warden, David Gallagher. "Anything beyond that, it's still ongoing in the investigation. So, there's not much more information than that. He exploited that vulnerability."

Authorities searched the area for hours. Clearfield Regional Police Chief Vincent McGinnis says they received a tip that Hauke-Miller was at the Royal Inn motel. The Royal Inn is just off U.S. Route 322, east of Clearfield Borough. In fact, the motel is exactly one mile from the jail. McGinnis says they finally found him there around 8:30pm on Tuesday.

McGinnis adds that "he was taken into custody without incident. He did not resist."

"Without that cooperation and ability to work together," Sgt. Tom Granville, the PSP Clearfield Troop-C Station Commander, mentions, "this capture would not have happened as quickly as it did."

The motel's owner wouldn't speak with 6 News on camera. However, he tells us Hauke-Miller snuck into one of the rooms by breaking a window. He says he wasn't aware of this, adding that the security camera did not capture the area of the room in question. The owner says he learned of what was happening around 7pm on Tuesday, when he says he saw police arrive.

Gallagher says the jail has resolved the security breach and that it's conducting an internal review right now. Once it's complete, he says details will be made available to the public.

It was May 30 last year, exactly a year before this most recent escape, when two inmates escaped from the county jail while on work release. It took nearly two weeks to find the first inmate, Donald J. White, and then about a month for the second one, Robert Lee Miller.

Another notable incident took place on July 22, 2019. That's when John Moore attempted a break-out by holding a corrections officer hostage.

And so, a topic that came up multiple times during Wednesday's press conference is: how to prevent this from happening again and how to better notify the public.

"Finding the vulnerability in the facility is a start. So that's been done," Gallagher answers. "We have things in place now that we're gonna correct. So, things should be prevented in the future. We never wanna see this happen again. So, we will do everything we need to do to correct things that are-- that are happening."

"Throughout this investigation and process, we have heard from the public that they would like a more effective notification system in place for situations involving escaped inmates," Clearfield County Commissioner Mary Tatum says. "While the hope is this will never happen again, the Clearfield County Prison Board will explore the options and ensure enhanced protocols are in place to keep the note public notified."

McGinnis says Hauke-Miller was arraigned Wednesday morning on felony charges of escape and is being held without bail.

UPDATE

Authorities in Clearfield County have released some new details about the investigation into an escaped inmate from the Clearfield County jail.

Officials confirmed that 36-year-old Craig Hauke-Miller was taken into custody, without incident, at the nearby Royal Inn motel, several hours after he escaped from the facility on Tuesday afternoon.

Investigators revealed that they did not realize he was missing until one of their "routine head counts" was conducted.

Officials say the jail was placed under lockdown and a manhunt began.

"It's believed that he found a vulnerability in the facility and he exploited that vulnerability. Anything beyond that, it's still ongoing in the investigation. So, there's not much more information than that. He exploited that vulnerability," Clearfield County Jail warden Dave Gallagher said during Wednesday's press conference.

Following an hours-long search, Hauke-Miller was located at the motel, which is approximately one mile from the jail, around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The motel's owner says that Hauke-Miller allegedly broke into one of the rooms by smashing a window.

While specific details about how Hauke-Miller escaped have not yet been made public, officials add that the jail has reportedly "resolved" the security breach and the incident remains under internal investigation.

Authorities also noted that they are working on ways to prevent such incidents and to better alert the public if such incident were to occur again.

"Finding the vulnerability in the facility is a start. So that's been done. We have things in place now that we're gonna correct. So, things should be prevented in the future. We never wanna see this happen again. So, we will do everything we need to do to correct things that are-- that are happening," the warden stated.

According to online court records, Hauke-Miller was arraigned Wednesday morning on one felony count of escape and is being held without bail.

ORIGINAL

Authorities in Clearfield County are searching for a robbery suspect who reportedly escaped from the county jail Tuesday afternoon.

Officials say 36-year-old Craig Hauke-Miller reportedly escaped from the facility around 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Hauke-Miller is awaiting trial after being accused of robbing the Fuel On gas station, in Chester Hill Borough, on February 6th.

He is described as being 5 feet, 6 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes, and a tattoo on his right bicep.

Officials say he may be wearing orange crocs, brown top and pants or white t-shirt and white shorts.

Clearfield Regional police and state police are investigating the incident.

Anyone who sees him is advised not to approach him and to call 911 immediately.

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