Escaped Northern Minnesota Inmate Captured In Western Wisconsin

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An inmate is back in custody after escaping the Northeast Regional Corrections Center last week.

Keith Bellanger, 33, escaped the facility -- located about 30 miles northwest of Duluth in Saginaw -- late Friday afternoon while he was being transferred to the prison's secure wing, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff's office.

Deputies followed his footprints in the snow to Caribou Lake before losing track, then K-9 officers took over, but lost his trace after trekking several miles into a wooded area.

Bellanger was arrested with the assistance of several agencies Tuesday without incident outside of a Superior, Wisconsin hotel. He is awaiting extradition back to Minnesota in the Douglas County Jail.

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