Cops Quickly Recapture 9 Juvie Inmates Who Escaped During Riot, Kicking Off Another PA Manhunt

Nine children escaped from Abraxas Academy, a Pennsylvanian juvenile detention center, during a riot on Sunday, kicking off a widespread manhunt that recaptured all nine by Monday morning.

Police quickly captured four of the inmates just a few miles from the facility, which is located in Morgantown in southeastern Pennsylvania, according to NBC News.

State Trooper David Beohm told ABC News that “[t]he four of them got cold” and “banged on a door” of a local resident to turn themselves in. The other five managed to steal a pickup truck with a trailer attached to it, per the outlet. (RELATED: ‘Best Four Days Of My Life’: Missouri Inmate Who Escaped High-Security Prison Recounts How He Did It)

Those five escapees have been since captured by the police, according to CNN. Four were caught after a vehicle chase with law enforcement, while the other ran off into a field on foot but was not able to elude police for long, Boehm explained, per CNN.

None of the escaped juveniles actively resisted arrest and all were caught within about four miles of the facility, Boehm explained, adding that around 60 law enforcement personnel participated in the overnight manhunt, which also involved K9s and drones.

While the youths were still at large, the Caernarvon Township Police Department released a public announcement describing the escaped youths as “wearing gray pants or shorts and a gray shirt” and urged the public to “call 911 if you spot someone matching that description.” The announcement also revealed that there had been a riot at the youth detention facility.

Police in Pennsylvania are searching for nine teens who escaped from a detention center after a “riot” broke out at the facility, authorities say. https://t.co/TH64H737zF

— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 18, 2023

Abraxas Academy’s website explains that it provides detention services for troubled male youths aged 14 to 18 who displayed either “habitual offending behaviors” or repeated sexually offending behavior.

The facility is located about 15 miles west of where Danelo Cavalcante, a convicted murderer, was captured last Wednesday after almost two weeks escaping jail, NBC News reported.