Escaped Inmate Caught, Charged with 2 Car Thefts

A man who had been held in a Northeast Iowa Residential facility for drug charges, now faces more charges for escape.

Just before 7:30pm Friday (Aug. 19), the Fayette County Sheriff got a call from the West Union Residential Facility, that 23 year old Ryan Smith had escaped out the back door of the unit, traveling on-foot in the West Union area.

That same night, the sheriff received a report of a stolen vehicle just outside of West Union, and Smith was the suspect. Another stolen vehicle was reported later that night in Hawkeye.

Video surveillance at the business where the car was taken, showed Smith getting into the vehicle. Tripoli Police recovered the car on Saturday.

Smith was located shortly after 8pm Saturday (Aug. 20) at a residence in Elgin, and taken into custody without any further incident.

He was taken to the Fayette County jail and charged with 2 counts of operating a vehicle without the owner's consent, and escape from a correctional facility.