The End And The Beginning
Son Jiang, a fugitive from China, enjoyed 17 years of freedom after he escaped prison. But even though he managed to stay off the radar for a long time, his unusual hiding place was discovered by a drone.
Most people wouldn't have thought about searching for him there, but luckily, his hiding spot was discovered after so many years. But to understand how he was found, we have to go back tot he beginning.
The Escape
In 2002, Jiang was sent to prison for trafficking women and children. He spent his days at a prison camp that supposedly had strict security measures, but somehow he managed to escape and go on the run.
Breaking out of prison is already difficult, but to make it work, the fugitive has to constantly be on the run and avoid being recognized for the rests of their life. This worked well for Jiang for almost two decades, until law enforcement decided to use drones to find him.
Finding Him
After almost two decades trying to find him, Chinese police decided to follow a few leads they had on him. This lead them to a completely unexpected area that they had never thought about before.
But bringing people there wouldn't be easy, so drones had to be used to successfully go through that area. There was evidence of human inhabitation around there and sure enough, they found him living in very shocking conditions.
Escaping Prison
While escaping prison isn't an easy thing to do, it does happen from time to time. In fact, about around 2,000 prisoners manage to break out of US prisons every year, and those numbers vary from country to country.
One of the most infamous escapes took place at Ohio's Gallia County Jail, where they had been facing many problems before the prisoners eventually broke out. It all started when two inmates lost their lives, something that decreased the reliability of the facility.
More Problems
The fact that two inmates died just opened the door for more investigations about the conditions of the prison, and what was discovered was awful. First of all, the building was too old and outdated to keep up with modern security standards.
Not only that, but the facility was overcrowded. It wasn't originally built to house as many people as they had, and cells were so crowded that the doors couldn't even be closed. But that's not all.
The Tip Of The Iceberg
Issues with the building were only the tip of the iceberg. There were so many problems with Gallia County Jail that it was just a matter of time before some prisoners broke out or started a riot that could put people's lives in danger.
Another problem that they had was a lack of guards, because people essentially did not want to work there. Employees of the jail only made between $11 and $15 an hour, which is not a big incentive to stay. This made the jail the perfect place for what happened next.
The First Breakout
Over the years, people broke out of Gallia County Jail through different methods. For example, some prisoners just took a vehicle that belonged to the jail and drove away, believe it or not.
But that was nothing compared to the high-profile escape of four men that took place in 2019. This escape was different because the men planned it for a long time, and nobody at the jail saw it coming.
The Escapees
In the fall of 2019, four prisoners escaped from Gallia County Jail: Brynn K. Martin, Christopher M. Clemente, Lawrence R. Lee III, and Troy R. McDaniel.
These inmates were locked up for several different crimes, such as burglary, assault, domestic violence, drug possession, and more. Instead of doing their time, they decided to plot their escape.
The Plan
It is normally not easy for inmates to just have access to materials that would allow them to make weapons, but since this jail didn't have enough guards and was overcrowded, these prisoners had enough time to slowly gather objects and fashion themselves a few weapons.
Once they had their weapons ready, they waited until two female guards were on duty in the middle of the night, and they overpowered them. All they had left to do was find a way to open the doors and walk out into freedom.
Getting Out
After they overpowered the two guards, all they had to do was exit the building. Luckily for them, one of the inmates had previously escaped the same prison: Lee Martin. He had been one of the inmates that broke out some time ago, and he knew exactly how he could do it again.
The four men quietly broke out the door of the jail and made their way outside. But once people know that inmates have broken out, it's only a matter of time before the police is after them, so they had to take a few more steps to get away with their plan.
Getaway Car
Walking out of prison and just escaping on foot is not a viable option because law enforcement has plenty of vehicles to chase the escapees and quickly apprehend them. The only way they could get away with this is with a vehicle of their own.
And that's exactly what they did. The prisoners stole an officer's car keys before making their way out of the building, and now all they had to do was find that car and drive away. They also needed someone to help them from the outside, and luckily for them, they did.
Help From The Outside
The escapees took the officer's car and drove away from the jail. However, police believe that they didn't go very far with this vehicle because they knew that they could be easily recognized this way.
It is believed that they had someone on the outside that they met at a secret location and helped them switch cars. Then, they had a new vehicle that the police couldn't track, and this allowed them to escape. However, their plan would take a different direction.
On The Run
Thanks to this new vehicle, the escapees managed to drive all the way from Ohio to Pennsylvania. Once they arrived, they ditched the car and started moving on foot. Police thought they might be in Pittsburgh, so they began searching the area.
Unfortunately, they did not find them there. The police continued to follow leads from people claiming that they saw the escapees, but that did not lead to anything. That was until someone actually spotted them and gave the police their exact location.
They Are Found
To the police's surprise, the fugitives were not in Pennsylvania anymore and actually found a way to go all the way to North Carolina. They were all staying together at a Red Roof Inn in Cary, 400 miles from Galia County Jail.
As soon as they got the tip, the police went there, but Lee managed to escape. The other three were arrested while Lee was at large, and that was the beginning of a huge manhunt in North Carolina.
Still Loose
The police still looked for Lee, who couldn't have gone very far - and indeed, he didn't. He was captured not very far from the Red Roof Inn and was taken into custody. It was a relief to see the prisoners go back to jail, but that was certainly not the last time something like that happened.
For example, there was another situation like this that took place in Israel. A man named Erez Akrishevski was granted a 48-hour leave from prison and took the opportunity not only to leave the area but to leave the country. Then, an international manhunt began.
Interpol
Akrishevski left the country as soon as he could, and authorities needed to find him before he got very far. Because he was no longer in Israel, Interpol had to get involved, and a Red Notice was filed.
A Red Notice basically lets all other countries know that there is a fugitive crossing borders. This allowed authorities to learn where he was, and it turns out that he was in a country very, very far away from Israel.
Captured?
After three whole years, Interpol found Akrishevi all the way in Argentina, thousands of miles away from Israel. He was captured and sent back to prison, but what happened next left everyone baffled.
You would think that after such an escape people would keep an eye on him, but that was not the case. He was eventually released on bail and he escaped yet again, and this time, he avoided capture for a long, long time.
At Large Again
Somehow, Akrishevski managed to fool authorities not once, but twice. It doesn't take a genius to realize that he got some help, because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to pull this off.
And surely enough, investigators figured out that he was involved with Israeli organized crime and he had contacts that helped him escape. He continued operating from abroad and avoided capture for over a decade. in 2019, however, things took a turn.
Bingo
After trying to find Akrishevski for over ten years, Interpol was losing hope. However, in 2019, things started to look up. Thanks to a collaborative effort between Israel, the United States, and Mexico, the Israeli criminal was finally located.
He was found in Mexico, where he was working with local organized crime, and he was finally arrested and sent back to Israel. This was not only done by people, but also technology played a big part in finding him. The same thing happened in the case of Son Jiang.
Modern Methods
Back in the day, escaping prison was much easier than it is now. Going far away and changing your appearance was pretty much all one had to do to get away with it, but now with modern technology this is much more difficult.
One tool that law enforcement relies on nowadays is drones. These aerial devices not only help locate fugitives and get great images from the sky, but also helps police create maps of their area of jurisdiction. This is what they used to catch Jiang.
An Important Tip
Son Jiang successfully avoided capture for 17 years. Nothing really came of any investigations, until police got a tip out of nowhere. Someone told them that they believed that Jiang was still living in his hometown in the province of Yunnan.
It makes sense that a fugitive would want to go back to his hometown at some point, but how did nobody notice it? Well, this province is actually known for its vast landscapes, which offer a lot of solitude and privacy to those who live there.
Searching The Area
The landscapes of Yunnan are incredibly stunning, but they are also difficult to navigate. The area is so big that police just couldn't search it on foot or by car, so drones seemed like the best option. Jiang could have been hiding anywhere and they needed to act fast in case he went on the run again,
According to the tip the police received, he was hiding somewhere in the mountains. They searched everywhere, but they did not find any sign of him. But when they searched once again, this time using the drones, they finally found what they were looking for.
#3. He Is Found
In the middle of a thick forest, one of the drones captured an image of a blue steel roof. As it turns out, Jiang was hiding in the middle of the wilderness, far away from civilization.
The police quickly arrived to the area and found that the blue roof was covering the entrance to a cave of all places. Then, it was time for them to go inside the cave and see if Jiang was still in there.
#2. There He Was
As officers ventured into the cave, they found a very fragile, unkempt old man, who looked malnourished. Despite his state, they were able to tell that it was in fact Son Jiang, the fugitive criminal they had been looking for all along.
The man had clearly been hiding for way too long and had been living in the middle of the forest for years. For this reason, he was extremely thin, confused, and dirty. But that wasn't the most surprising part.
#1. A Sad Picture
He might have had his freedom, but Jiang's living conditions were deplorable. Not only that, but because he had been isolated for almost two decades, he had lost his ability to communicate with other people. He could not talk to the police officers, who were shocked by the state he was in.
He lived in that tiny, 21-square-feet cave for 17 years and survived in the wild. He was taken into custody and he is expected to recover his strength and his ability to communicate after some time. Hopefully, police will keep a good eye on him this time!