Alaska State Troopers have arrested one escapee considered a "dangerous" offender, while another remains on the loose after escaping custody in Fairbanks earlier this month.
Logan Austin was found around 2:30 p.m. Thursday after troopers received a tip that he was at a gas station. He was arrested on a charge of escape and two outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court and robbery, according to a trooper dispatch.
On Jan. 14, Austin had walked away from the North Star Center in Fairbanks.
The North Star Center is considered a community residential center by the Department of Corrections but is more commonly known as a halfway house. Unlike a "hard facility" or prison, residents are allowed to come and go for work or to volunteer and are expected to make the choice to return.
According to Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sherrie Daigle, staff members at the North Star Center have a "duty" to prevent an escape but are not permitted to use force or chase potential escapees.
"That duty is limited to monitoring where an offender is; surveillance within the facility (video monitoring throughout the facility); random spot checks in the community, for those furloughed, who are allowed to leave the facility; and controlled access," Daigle wrote in an email.
Daigle said staff is required to act as a witness and to report the incident.
"Staff frequently attempt to convince people who do walk away that it is a bad choice," Daigle wrote.
Austin had been charged with theft this month, according to online court records.
Meanwhile, 38-year-old Michael Bracht remained at large Thursday after he fled from a third-party custodian the same day he was supposed to begin serving a prison sentence.
Bracht had been the suspect in a 10-hour armed standoff and high-speed chase in September. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported he had taken a plea deal in that case and had been sentenced to 32 months in prison shortly before his escape.
As part of his plea agreement, Bracht had been released to a third-party custodian for 12 hours to take care of personal affairs before serving his sentence. Troopers said Bracht ran from his custodian around 6:45 p.m.
Anyone with information on Bracht is urged to call 911 and not to attempt to contact him.