escape news stories on Newser

Al-Qaeda Militants Escape Yemen Prison

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:29:42 CST

Just months after almost 60 suspected al-Qaeda militants escaped from a Yemen jail , another 10 to 15 militants broke out of another Yemen prison early today. The convicts fled through a tunnel as long as 130 feet that took them under the Aden prison and dropped them off outside the...

Accused Pentagon Shooter Tries to Dig Out of Cell

John Johnson — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:54:52 CDT

10:1 odds he's a big fan of Shawshank Redemption : The Marine Reservist accused of shooting at the Pentagon and other military sites last year tried to dig his way out of jail, reports the Washington Post . He didn't come close. Officials at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center described...

1K Prisoners Escape in DR Congo Jail Break

Mark Russell — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 05:50:07 CDT

A militia attack on a prison in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo province of Katanga has led to nearly 1,000 prisoners escaping, reports the BBC . The militia aimed to free a leader of the group, Gedeon Kyungu Mutanga, who had been sentenced to death in 2009 for his...

Suitcase Jailbreak Foiled

Rob Quinn — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 02:17:25 CDT

Prison guards in Mexico stopped a nervous-looking woman who was wheeling a bulky suitcase out of the prison following a conjugal visit ... and found her common-law-husband inside. Inmate Juan Ramirez Tijerina, who is serving a 20-year sentence for illegal weapons possession, was curled up in a fetal position, AP reports....

Great Escape Tunnel Set for Excavation

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:03:42 CST

It's called "George," the lesser-known tunnel of the Great Escape, and historians hope to uncover World War II equipment or personal effects when engineers excavate it. Prisoners of war dug “Tom,” “Dick,” and “Harry” for the famous 1944 escape attempt from the Nazi camp, and those who didn’t make it...

75-Year-Old American Fled Iran on Horseback

Matt Cantor — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:56:05 CST

WikiLeaks’ release of diplomatic cables contains at least one tale of adventure: In a cable from Turkey, the Guardian finds a story of an American’s daunting horseback escape from Iran. Hossein Ghanbarzadeh Vahedi, 75, visited Iran to visit his parents' graves—but when he wanted to return home to the...

Iraq Takes Over Prison —and 4 Inmates Escape

John Johnson — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:39:57 CDT

Lock the cells, please: US and Iraq made a big deal of it earlier this month when the American military turned over control of the last US-run prison in the country. (See summary here .) But within a matter of days, four prisoners—three of them high-ranking members of the...

Cops Catch Prisoner Who Cut Off Own Ear to Escape

Kevin Spak — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:16:00 CDT

British police today recaptured a man who'd cut off his own ear to escape from prison. The man, 29-year-old Michael O'Donnell of Greater Manchester, went Van Gogh on himself on May 2 while awaiting sentencing for his role in a car cloning crime ring. He was sent to the hospital,...

'Roo On the Lam in Germany

Jane Yager — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:32:41 CDT

The silly season has reached its peak: Der Spiegel reports a lost kangaroo hopping through the western German countryside. Locals have spotted the stray marsupial on a highway and a sports ground, but nobody has been quick enough to catch it. With no zoos or kangaroo farms reporting a lost...