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Woman smuggled cell phone to Kan. prisoner to help with escape

The Associated Press

LEAVENWORTH, Kan.- A woman accused of helping a convicted murderer escape from prison in a dog crate had smuggled him a cell phone that he used to help plan his breakout, prosecutors said Friday.

Toby Young, 48, of Kansas City, Kan., is already charged with aiding an escape and harboring a felon.

Prosecutors added a new charge of introducing contraband into a prison.

Young ran the Safe Harbor Prison Dog Program, where inmates trained dogs to be pets. John Manard, 27, serving life for a 1996 murder, was one of the trainers.

Lansing Correctional Facility officials say Manard escaped Feb. 12 after being placed in a dog crate and loaded into a Safe Harbor van that Young drove through the prison gates.

Investigators Manard had used the cell phone to arrange for a pickup truck and a place to stay. The pair were captured Feb. 24 in East Tennessee.