'Oh, they’re in my yard': Inmate escapes during Anoka County Jail transport, found in backyard shed

ANOKA, Minn. (FOX 9) - Deputies say an inmate who escaped custody Wednesday evening in Anoka is now in custody.

The Anoka County Sheriff's Office alerted members of the public about the search in downtown Anoka shortly after 5 p.m. Deputies warned people to avoid the area while search efforts were underway.

By 5:20 p.m., deputies announced the man was in custody. Deputies have not yet released details on how the man escaped and how he was captured.

In a news release, the sheriff's department says that, around 4:22 p.m., the inmate was being transported to the jail when he was able to get out of the squad car and run away on foot. Deputies and other police agencies were able to establish a perimeter and say the inmate was arrested a short time later.

Deputies do not say exactly how the inmate was able to get out of the vehicle or where exactly he was taken into custody. However, FOX 9 is told the search led deputies to Coon Rapids where the inmate was taken into custody in Mike Klotz's backyard.

Klotz says it was just after 5 p.m. when he looked out his kitchen window and saw his yard was full of squad cars and a deputy who told him the inmate was hiding in his backyard shed.

"I looked out the window and my god there’s sheriff, sheriff, cop, cop – oh they’re in my yard. Oh, you know what, a prisoner escaped and we caught him in your shed."

The inmate was transported back to the Anoka County Jail and is in custody.