Police Capture 25-Year-Old Monroe Escapee 18 Miles Away After 12 Hours

7 articles · Updated · KOMO News · May 15

Samuel Kimble was taken into custody at Lynnwood Transit Center about 12 hours after slipping out of Monroe Correctional Complex’s minimum-security unit just before 11 p.m. Thursday.
DOC staff did not realize the 25-year-old was missing until a 3:30 a.m. formal count, and surveillance later showed he had left hours earlier; officials still do not know whether he acted alone.
Public tips helped lead officers to Lynnwood, while the prison was locked down and nearby schools were notified during the search. Kimble suffered fence-line injuries during the escape.
Kimble had about seven months left on a 27-month assault sentence and will now be held in a higher-security intensive management unit as he awaits escape charges.
The Department of Corrections has opened a critical incident review into how the breach happened at the 1,407-inmate complex, where 259 prisoners are in minimum security.

With only seven months left on his sentence, what does this escape reveal about prison conditions?

How can a prisoner escape and remain undetected for five hours in a modern correctional facility?

Public tips led to the capture. How much does public safety now depend on citizens, not prison walls?