By Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Deputies in central Illinois have captured one of two inmates who escaped from a maximum security prison in Marlboro County, and authorities thought they were close to catching the second fugitive.
Robert Fortener Diehl, 26, was tracked down by police dogs about 6 a.m. Wednesday after he ran from officers during a traffic stop, said Sgt. Jeff Landers of the McLean County, Ill., sheriff’s office.
Diehl was with 25-year-old Jonathan Melton, Landers said. South Carolina prison officials said the two inmates broke out of the Evans Correctional Institution on Sunday morning.
Melton also ran from the car. Deputies said he was probably still nearby and police dogs and helicopters were trying to track him down in a rural area near Lexington, Ill., Landers said.
“Some woods, some cornfields, some bean fields -- it’s just typical central Illinois environment,” Landers said.
Officers tried to stop the suspects on Interstate 55 but were led on a 20-mile chase, Landers said.
Melton was serving 18 years for burglary and other crimes in Horry and Richland counties. Diehl was serving 15 years for burglary and other charges in Horry County.
The capture came one day after State Law Enforcement Division agents charged two people from Myrtle Beach with helping the inmates escape.
Christopher Rodabaugh, 18, and Wendy Crume, 27, bought tools from a Conway Wal-Mart, according to arrest warrants.
Rodabaugh cut the outside fence at the prison on the outskirts of Bennettsville, while Crume drove the inmates away from the prison, SLED said.
The inmates hid from the guard as they walked to breakfast, then scaled an inner fence topped with razor wire. An alarm sounded as the inmates topped the first fence, but they slipped through the cut outer fence before guards responded, prison officials said.
Inmates at the prison told investigators the escape had been planned for months. The warrant says Crume told several family members about the plan.
Evans Correctional Institution has about 1,450 inmates and 250 uniformed guards, according to agency statistics.