Woman who escaped from Hiland Mountain found in stolen car at Anchorage restaurant, police say

A woman who “walked away” from Hiland Mountain Correctional Center on Wednesday was arrested Thursday night after she was found in a stolen car in the parking lot of Buffalo Wild Wings in Midtown Anchorage, police said.

Lori Declusin, 36, managed to escape the prison on Sunday night by falsifying her own identity and posing as her cellmate, who was set to be released, according to Sarah Gallagher, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Corrections. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Declusin had the other woman’s permission.

The details of the incident are still under investigation, Gallagher said Friday.

Declusin became argumentative and occasionally profane in a municipal arraignment hearing held Friday afternoon by phone from Hiland, saying she wasn’t a “walk-away” from the facility but instead was released.

“I was told to leave,” she said. “They gave me clothes and told me to leave.”

Later, during another state hearing on the new charges she faces including felony-level escape, Declusin hung up the phone and interrupted Superior Court Judge Josie Garton to tell her side of the story multiple times, prompting several warnings that anything she said could be used against her in court.

Garton set an appearance bond of $15,000 cash and a $1,000 cash performance bond, citing Declusin’s “dangerous conduct and willingness to violate court orders.” She also called her a significant flight risk.

Declusin was most recently convicted of violating a stalking order, police said. The victim testified Friday that Declusin has repeatedly threatened her and another victim on the order, sometimes just a few hours after getting out on bail.

Declusin remained jailed Friday on bail including $1,500 cash performance and another $100 unsecured.

Authorities issued a felony escape warrant after Declusin left the facility, police said in an online update Friday. Dispatchers got a report that she was at the restaurant just before 8 p.m. Thursday.

Patrol officers found Declusin inside a vehicle that had been reported stolen with a man who fled the scene, police said. Declusin was taken into custody, initially providing a false name, then was transported to jail, according to police. The man with her, 36-year-old Daniel Willey, was taken into custody for questioning and later arrested on charges including first-degree vehicle theft and burglary, police said.

Along with the arrest warrant, Declusin faces new charges including resisting arrest, criminal mischief and violating the conditions of her release.

Declusin was back at Hiland by Thursday night, Gallagher said.