Police capture nine escapees from juvenile detention center

Pennsylvania police found nine teenagers who broke out of a detention center Sunday evening during a riot at the facility in Morgantown, Pa., northwest of Philadelphia. State and local law enforcement regained control over the detention center, Abraxas Academy, before searching overnight for the teenagers. The escapees are between the ages of 15 and 17.

How did they escape? The teenagers overpowered two prison employees, obtained a set of keys, and got out of the building through a side door, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman David Boehm said Monday morning. The escapees crawled under the facility’s fence before attempting to break into a car shortly after midnight. Police captured four of the teens over two miles away from the academy after they banged on the door of a house because they were cold, Boehm said. Police detained the rest of the teens later Monday morning after they fled officers in a stolen truck. It’s the sixth escape incident from a secure facility in Pennsylvania so far this year.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Dunn’s article in Schooled on inadequacies in juvenile justice facility education programs.