After a four-day, nation-wide manhunt for an escaped inmate who attacked an Ohio deputy and stole his gun, the suspected rapist has now been found dead in a crawlspace in his parent’s Antwerp home.
Four-day nation-wide manhunt to track down escaped inmate
As reported by ABC News, a nationwide manhunt was launched on Friday after Branden Lee Powell, 32, of Antwerp, Oh., attacked and overpowered a deputy in the transport van taking him from a Toledo Psychiatric Hospital – where he had received treatment – back to the jail.
Powell, an accused rapist, Escaped with the Deputy Robert Miller’s gun, ammunition, mobile phone, and wallet after the van crashed into a ditch during the scuffle.
Powell also handcuffed Miller to the steering wheel, before disabling the police radio and the engine of the vehicle. The deputy reportedly only suffered minor injuries in the incident.
Officials track down escapee to his parent’s home
As reported by WPTA-TV, the four-day manhunt ended at around 9:30 p.m. Monday after police discovered Powell’s body in a crawl space of the basement in his parent’s home in Antwerp Township.
A statement from the Paulding County Sheriff’s office, posted on Facebook by ABC affiliate WPTA-TV, said officers had attempted to “peacefully” bring Powell out of the crawlspace and back into custody but were unsuccessful. This then led to the escapee shooting and killing himself with the handgun he had stolen from Deputy Miller.
The statement continued by saying this was certainly not the outcome officials had hoped for but went on to say the community can now rest, knowing the armed individual is no longer a danger to them.
Arrest for rape and attempted rape and attempted suicide
The New York Daily News reports that Powell was taken into custody on July 8 on rape and attempted rape and battery charges.
However Powell soon afterward attempted to commit suicide by trying to slit his own throat in the Paulding County Detention Center. Powell was then taken to hospital for surgery. Powell was later taken to the Toledo psychiatric hospital on five days later for treatment relating to his attempted suicide.
Paulding County Sheriff Jason Landers said in a news statement that doctors at the psychiatric hospital had apparently concluded Powell was fit for incarceration in the prison and he was being returned at the time of his attack on the deputy and escaped from custody.
