A fugitive who shimmied out of a Pennsylvania prison using a rope of bedsheets July 6 was captured Saturday evening in the woods with the help of a dog, according to reports.
Michael Charles Burham was recaptured at 5:50 pm following call to police from residents on Jackson Run Road in Conewango Township, Warren County, Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said in a press conference. Burham, 34, a homicide and arson suspect, reportedly escaped from Warren County Prison in the late evening hours of July 6 by climbing on exercise equipment — going through a window — and scaling down a rope fashioned from jail bedding, according to the Associated Press (AP). (RELATED: Manhunt Underway For Murder Suspect With ‘Survivalist Skills’)
A barking dog alerted its owners, a couple, both of whom went to the rear of their property and found Burham, who said he was camping, Lt. Col. Bivens said. The resident then made the phone call at about 3:57 pm to the authorities, while Burham fled into the woods. Burham later came out into an open area, “dirty, wet, and worn-out,” Bivens added. Attempting to hide from troopers who spotted him, Burham was approached from behind by other officers who had been closing in on him, and then taken into custody at gunpoint, Bivens further said.
Michael Burham has been captured. Thank you to all partner agencies and the surrounding community for their assistance and support during this detail.
— PA State Police (@PAStatePolice) July 16, 2023
Burham — wearing his prison pants inside out — was unarmed, but troopers conducted a search of the area, according to Bivens. Officers previously recovered bags that contained “ammunition of different calibers,” Bivens added. The New York State Police, the Customs and Border Patrol, and K-9s were also involved in the manhunt.
Burham would be arraigned later Friday on the escape charge and would no longer be held in the Warren County prison, according to Bivens. State troopers are investigating any assistance Burham might have received.
“It’s a great relief. It’s a good day,” Bivens said, pleased that there was no shootout and no one was harmed. He thanked his team for their “hard work, dedication, and risk[-taking],” and thanked the media and the community for their help with the search.