MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (KCRG) - An inmate escaped an Iowa prison and was captured a few miles away.

Mount Pleasant Police said the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility alerted them just after noon on Wednesday that 49-year-old inmate Dale Knajdek had walked into a tree line east of the prison.

Officers set up a perimeter and placed schools in town on lockdown. Officers eventually found Knajdek in the 800 block of W. Courtland Street in Mount Pleasant, about 2 miles away and on the other side of town from the prison. He was taken into custody without incident.

It’s unclear how Knajdek was able to escape. The Iowa Department of Corrections has not released any information about the escape.

Knajdek is currently serving a 5-year prison sentence for a felony eluding charge out of Lee County.

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