MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: Cam Hunter Department of Corrections 602-542-4830 cell 602-320-3908

Jethro, Bullet, Diamond Rio and Arco. During the night, they helped track down a federal prison escapee. The four, all bloodhounds, are assigned to the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) and are trained to track. When an inmate from the federal prison facility at Safford escaped late yesterday, the call went out for assistance from other state, federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the Arizona State Prison Complex - Safford. About a dozen ADC staff from the facility, the dogs and their handlers were mobilized to help out. ADC's Captain Phil Elliott was the chase commander and says the dogs tracked the inmate about 17 miles through neighborhoods, washes, over a golf course and eventually into the community of Thatcher. The inmate was discovered sleeping in a storage facility and taken in to custody around 3 am by the Police Chief of Thatcher. Jethro and Bullet were close behind and remained on site until the escapee was apprehended. Capt. Elliott emphasized that the Department of Corrections was one of many agencies called in to support the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He characterized the hunt as a cooperative effort between law enforcement agencies which included the Federal Bureau of Prisons, US Marshall Service, Departments of Public Safety and Corrections, Graham County Sheriff, and Cities of Safford and Thatcher. He says the reward for the dogs, trained expressly by ADC handlers to track and called upon frequently by other agencies to assist in searches, is love. If you would like to talk to the dog handlers, get pictures or video or interviews, contact Cam Hunter at 602-542-4830 or call the prison complex at 928-428-4698. The dogs and handlers will be available this afternoon at ASPC-Safford. PHOTOS Lt Antonio Jurado with Jethro Lt Antonio Jurado with Bullett