Nine teenagers who escaped from a Pennsylvania juvenile detention center were all recaptured early Monday, less than 12 hours after they fled during a riot.
The teens — aged between 15 and 17 — fled just after 8 p.m. Sunday from Abraxas Academy in New Morgan, less than 15 miles from where convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante was captured last week after two weeks on the run.
The latest escapees managed to get out by overpowering two staffers during a riot, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman David Boehm said early Monday.
“They were able to get the keys and then they were able to get out the side door, or one of the doors,” Boehm said.
After getting through the fence surrounding the facility, likely by going under it, the fugitives tried to break into a car in the middle of the night.
“I don’t know what alerted the homeowners, but they broke the window of the car, lights came on, and then they took off,” the state police spokesperson said of the botched carjacking.
Four of the juveniles were collared before 6 a.m. on Oak Grove Road in New Morgan, about 4 miles from the juvenile detention center, reported the Reading Eagle.
Four others were caught around 6:30 a.m. The final escapee tried to flee into a field but was apprehended, officials said.
Several of them said they were tired and cold after spending the night on the run, Boehm said. The teens were not identified.
The nearby Twin Valley School District had announced that all its schools and offices would be closed, and all after-school and evening activities would be canceled Monday “out of an abundance of caution.”
Abraxas Academy is described as a “multi-service facility” with a “secure” treatment program for delinquent males between the ages of “14 to 18 in 9th grade or above,” according to the facility’s website.
This is the juvenile center’s second riot in less than three months, according to WFMZ.
The previous rampage was reported on July 4 and involved some 50 teens who broke a water pipe, fire alarms and video surveillance equipment.
It took some 40 officers from multiple police departments five hours to subdue the rioters.
