Second escaped inmate from Va. jail found on college campus

Published: May. 8, 2023 at 8:18 AM EDT|Updated: May. 8, 2023 at 10:21 AM EDT
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FARMVILLE, Va. (WWBT) - The second inmate who escaped Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville was found on Monday morning on Longwood University’s campus.

Bruce Callahan escaped on April 30, nearly 24 hours after another inmate, Alder Marin-Sotelo, had escaped.

Bruce Callahan was being held on federal drug and weapons charges in North Carolina.
Bruce Callahan was being held on federal drug and weapons charges in North Carolina.(Prince Edward County Sheriff's Office)

“The inmate was injured and in poor health when he walked onto Lancer Park property and pulled an outdoor fire alarm,” Longwood University said in a statement. “He surrendered to police and asked for medical assistance.”

The incident at Longwood happened just after 5:30 a.m.

The school says there was no indication that Callahan had previously been on Longwood property.

“With this arrest, both escaped inmates are back in law enforcement custody and this incident is now closed,” Longwood said in its statement.

Callahan, from North Carolina, had been convicted of multiple federal drug charges.

Marin-Sotelo was captured in Mexico on May 4.

Officials believe both men manipulated the locking mechanism of a rear exit door to get out.

This comes months after meeting documents show conversations from the Piedmont Regional Jail Authority Board to replace failing locks.

In a statement, Piedmont Regional Jail Authority Board said while the board has discussed door lock replacement in previous meetings, those discussions “pertained to interior doors in a different housing pod from which the inmates escaped. The replacement of these interior locks is part of the capital improvement plan for the jail.”