Mount Pleasant, Iowa – Authorities have released new details following Wednesday’s mid-day manhunt for an escaped inmate from the Iowa Department of Corrections Prison.
According to a statement from the Mount Pleasant Police Department, officers were notified at approximately 12:07 p.m. on September 17 that a prisoner had run away from the facility. Investigators determined that Dale Knadjek, 49, left the industrial area of the prison shortly after 11 a.m., walked into a tree line east of the facility, and then headed north.
Because of the nearly hour-long delay between his departure and the alert, officers established a large perimeter and sent emergency notifications. Local schools were placed on lockdown as a precaution while numerous law enforcement agencies joined the search.
Businesses and residents across north Mount Pleasant provided crucial tips and security footage, helping authorities track Knadjek to the 800 block of West Courtland Street, where he was taken into custody without incident shortly after 1 p.m.
The Mount Pleasant Police Department credited assistance from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Department of Corrections, Department of Criminal Investigations, and New London Police Department for the swift capture.
Knadjek was returned to the correctional facility, and charges related to the escape are expected to be filed.