A prisoner who escaped a Mays Landing jail Tuesday night has been caught, according to police.
Investigators say 38-year-old Shane Hopkins escaped the Atlantic County Jail on the 5000 block of Atlantic Avenue just after 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
Hopkins was serving a sentence for allegedly resisting arrest, eluding a police officer and burglary, according to police.
Police say Hopkins was being transported by a Hamilton Township Police officer when he somehow escaped custody and ran off into the surrounding area. An off-duty State Trooper spotted him crossing Route 40 moments later. Police say the trooper did not chase after him because his family was with him in the car.
Authorities secured a five-mile radius around the jail and had police dogs searching the area. The jail was on lock down immediately following the escape.
Students at nearby Atlantic Cape County Community College received a text message late Tuesday that Hopkins could possibly be hiding out in the ball fields near Route 40 in Mays Landing. The college was on lock down and classes were canceled. That lock down has been lifted and classes have resumed.
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Police say Hopkins was captured Wednesday around 4:15 p.m. near Old Egg Harbor and Black Horse Pike after someone heard a sound in the woods. Police say Hopkins initially tried to run but then offered no resistance once police surrounded him.
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