An inmate who escaped from a western Wisconsin jail Tuesday afternoon while away from the facility using his work privileges was recaptured in Minnesota, according to the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office.
Inmate Brian W. Fern, 55, had been in jail since Nov. 17, and had privileges that allowed him to leave the facility to work at a job, seek employment or for other purposes such as seeking medical treatment or attending educational programs.
At 2 p.m. the Sheriff's Office was alerted when his ankle monitor was tampered with, according to a department Facebook post. Fern's last known location was the 1400 block of Coulee Road in Hudson, a city where he most recently lived, according to court records.
Officers found the monitor and a knife they suspect was used to cut off the monitor. Late Tuesday, in a Facebook post, the Sheriff's Office said he had been recaptured in Washington County, Minnesota.
His most recent conviction was for a 2020 child support case, court records show. He was serving two consecutive 180-day sentences for child support cases, according to the Sheriff's Office.
