STEVENS COUNTY, Idaho – A Stevens County Jail inmate escaped after a corrections officer left a door unlatched.
The inmate was performing regular duties when he noticed a sally port door was not fully latched closed, providing an open escape route.He managed to grab clothes from a dressing room and left on foot towards Colville.Corrections officers quickly noticed the inmate was missing and notified dispatch, who then informed all surrounding dispatch officers.A Colville Police Officer spotted the inmate near the south city limits and apprehended him just 6 minutes after dispatch received the call.The corrections officer who left the door unlatched, was transporting an intoxicated individual to jail when he passed through the sally port door, not knowing it hadn’t fully latched closed behind him.”This incident occurred due to a series of errors made by the Sheriff’s Office, and the blame lies squarely on us. We are reviewing and changing policies and procedures to ensure this does not happen again,” said the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office.They also stated that if the inmate had been missing for even a few more minutes, a public notice would have been sent out.
