Escaped inmate captured on prison grounds
WESTVILLE, Ind. (WANE) – A Westville Correctional Facility inmate was thought to have escaped Friday.
But 35-year-old Orville Morris was found on prison property Sunday. According to the Indiana Department of Correction, Morris was found in the mechanical systems of the ceiling.
IDOC said staff was checking the building again when they heard a noise. Officials isolated the area and found Morris hiding on a ledge along the building’s HVAC system. IDOC said Morris saw prison staff members and yelled, “I give up. I give up.”
IDOC said Morris is being interviewed by correctional officers. Morris was nearing the end of a three-year sentence for a theft conviction. He was to start a three-year sentence in August for a burglary conviction. It’s unclear if Morris will face any additional charges or sentence time. IDOC officials said Morris will be internally charged for his attempted escape and additional information will be forwarded to the LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office.
“We never give up,” WCC Superintendent Mark Sevier said in a Facebook post. “Our teams went through the entire facility three times searching for him. We would keep on searching until he was found.”
Morris will be placed into a high security, restrictive housing unit.
Prison officials said Friday Morris was accounted for during a morning head count. But, a secondary count in the afternoon is when officials noticed he was gone.