SEDALIA, Mo. (AP/KMOX) - Authorities say a kidnapping suspect who escaped from a Missouri jail and an Oklahoma patrol car has been arrested after returning to Missouri.The Sedalia Democrat reports that 30-year-old Travis Lee Davis was found early Tuesday trying to hide in the attic space of a detached garage. Sedalia Police Chief Matt Wirt says he tried to escape before he was arrested and has been returned to the Pettis County Jail.Davis has been missing from Sedalia since escaping from the Pettis County Jail on March 9.
He was recaptured last Wednesday in Heavener, Oklahoma. The officers had Davis with his hands cuffed behind his back, in the back of the police car, behind a cage, reports 4029tv. Police told the local station they are unsure how, but Davis was able climb through the window and into the driver's seat of the car, then take off.
Davis drove about 1.5 miles before crashing it into a tree and police believe he may have gotten on a train that was approaching the area at the time.
He was originally being charged with kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a minor, domestic assault, resisting arrest, and parole violation.
He was reportedly discovered to be missing Sunday night after he climbed into the ceiling and made his way into a maintenance closet near an exit, said the Pettis County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. Police say he fled on foot, then was found after the woman who he allegedly tried to kidnap called police from a convenience store while Davis was asleep in a car.
But police say he was able to escape from a patrol car by crawling into the front seat while handcuffed. He drove the car about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) before crashing.Police suspect he later stole a pickup truck and drove back to Missouri.
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