By Greg Sowinski
The Lima News
LIMA — The intense manhunt for two inmates who escaped the Oakwood prison Thursday evening began seconds after they scaled the first security fence, setting off an alarm.
At 7:38 p.m., three inmates climbed two security fences nearly 15 feet tall and topped with razor wire. They used crates to create a makeshift ladder. One inmate, Lindsey Bruce, a convicted murderer of a 5-year-old girl from near Columbus, was tackled by two correctional officers on the other side of the second fence nine minutes after the escape attempt started.
At 7:45 p.m., the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the agency responsible for law enforcement on state property, alerted the Lima Police Department and Allen County Sheriff’s Office.
Two other inmates, Chardon High School killer Thomas M. “T.J.” Lane III, 19, and Clifford Opperud, 45, a home-invader from Warren County, ran through a field heading north. A responding sheriff’s deputy saw them running into the woods but was unable to catch them by himself, Sheriff Sam Crish of Allen County said.
The manhunt
In the minutes that followed, dozens of police officers and correctional staff flooded the area. They started with a wide perimeter that was fully established by 8:37 p.m. They then moved inward with officers, police dogs, a helicopter with thermal imaging and a plane. There also were officers on horseback, Crish said.
Crish and others thought Lane and Opperud were nearby, but the darkness helped the prisoners. Officers searched bushes, buildings, fields, woods and anywhere the men could possibly hide, he said.
Officials in Chardon, about 200 miles away, and the family members of Lane’s victims were alerted. One, a victim’s father, contacted Crish and expressed worry that Lane was headed to Chardon.
State troopers blocked off Bluelick Road beginning at North West Street extending east.
At 1:20 a.m., almost six hours later, Lane was located in a wooded area near Sugar Creek Church of the Brethren and taken into custody by the state patrol’s special response team. The church and its cemetery are just north of the prison on Bluelick Road. A patrol dog with a powerful sense of smell led officers to him, officials said.
Lane did not put up a fight and did not say a word, Warden Kevin Jones said.
Nearly nine hours after first going over the fences, Opperud was taken into custody at 4:20 a.m. He was hiding under a boat at a residence just north of Bluelick Road. A helicopter with a mounted infrared camera located a “hot spot” that officers checked and found was Opperud, officials said.
Mission accomplished
In the end, although a situation for great concern, it turned out the men were found within a few hundred feet of the prison, which Crish and others initially thought and hoped would happen.
“We felt pretty confident they were going to be in that perimeter. With the amount of officers that we had and the quick response we got, we boxed them in. There was no way out,” Crish said. “They just tucked themselves in low because of the amount of officers. I’m sure they could hear us and see us.”
By 10:55 a.m. Friday, all three inmates were transferred to Ohio’s “SuperMax” prison, the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown, said JoEllen Smith, a spokeswoman for the state prison system.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues, both from a criminal standpoint by the state patrol and from an administrative level within the state prison system.
There were many more unanswered questions among prison and state patrol officials Friday than answers. A spokesman for the state patrol assigned to field media questions did not return multiple calls seeking comment.
Community fear
About an hour after the escape, Lima Police were sending out warnings to citizens using social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
While some residents were afraid, others posted on social media they hoped to run into the men and would kill them, if given the chance.
Pamela Williams wrote on Facebook, “Its over but I am still shook up over this. I have never been that scared in my life…And so so close to my home and my friends and family.”
Michael Bosch, who lives nearby the prison next to the Springbrook Golf Course, said he has lived there 21 years and never heard of any of inmates breaking free of the fences. Bosh said two sheriff’s deputies were at his house notifying him within 45 minutes of the escape and they returned a few other times to check on him. He was told to lock his doors.
Police warned people throughout the night not to confront the inmates should they see them.
Crish expressed concern for Lima residents. The longer the inmates were loose, the more likely they were to possibly hurt someone. No one was hurt during the incident, including the inmates, officials said.
Crish and Lima Police called in the third shift early and each agency’s second shift was asked to stay on. The FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, special response teams from the state prison system and state patrol also were brought in for the manhunt, Crish said.
Officers were provided pictures of the men, told they were in prison-issued blue clothing and warned of their histories. All officers were told the men should be considered extremely dangerous, Crish said.
During the search, officers were called to investigate numerous reports of noises outside or possible sightings that turned out to be false, but officers were glad to check.
Protective custody
Lane, Bruce and Opperud, all were in the protective custody unit at Oakwood.
Following their escape, Oakwood and Allen Correctional were placed in lockdown and an emergency count was conducted to make sure no one else was part of the escape, Smith said.
There were 1,626 inmates at the two facilities on Thursday, Smith said.
The union that represents correctional officers at the prison said staff alerted management of escape plans a day before. Smith said that incident had nothing to do with the escape Thursday. The inmate, Ernest Seay, was in a segregation cell when the escape by the three happened. Seay had been housed with the three who carried out the escape, however. Seay made a comment that he wanted to escape and go after a woman working at the prison, an official said.
Some staff members at the prison expressed concerns Friday about safety measures at the prison that no longer include posting guards in the towers that give security staff a bird’s-eye view.
The three men who scaled the fences were in the recreation yard at the time of the incident, officials said.
A Correctional Institution Inspection Committee report dated May 13 made a recommendation to give inmates in protective custody outside recreational time that they were not permitted to have. The report suggested having a measure in place by September.
Smith declined to comment on the matter or say if the three had just started enjoying outdoor recreation time. The report also recommended the construction of outdoor recreation areas for inmates in protective custody for outdoor activities, such as basketball, pickleball, cornhole and handball.
“Upon completion of the east perimeter road project and building of an outside recreation cage on the east side, AOI will then request permission from the OSC for outside recreation of the level 4 offenders within the PC unit. Time table for competition is September 2014,” according to the report.
Lane, Opperud and Bruce were in protective custody for their own safety. Lane had threats made against his life at another prison, causing his move to Oakwood, Smith said.
Lane and Opperud had a special relationship within the protective custody unit. Opperud offered Lane protection from other inmates while Lane offered Opperud companionship, officials from the prison said. Smith said she would not comment on the relationship.
Troublemakers
Lane had been disciplined at least seven times since arriving at the prison. One violation was receiving a tattoo.
Opperud is no stranger to escape plans. When he was housed in the Warren County jail in 2008, he was plotting an escape, said Lt. Eric Johnson of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
Staff found a note detailing his escape plan. Opperud never was charged since he never attempted the escape, Johnson said.
While there have been escape attempts in the past — including one nearly a year ago to the day in which an inmate got over one fence at Oakwood — Smith was unaware of any previous attempts where inmates made it as far as Lane and Opperud.
She and staff were examining prison records but found nothing for the past 12 years. Crish said in the 30 years he’s been with the Allen County Sheriff’s Office he did not recall anyone who got as far as the inmates last night.