A jail escapee was captured Wednesday after an hour-long foot pursuit up and down the Animas River Trail north of downtown Durango.
The chase resulted in lockouts at Durango High School, St. Columba School and a day care center, said Cmdr. Ray Shupe, spokesman with the Durango Police Department. A reverse 911 call was made to some residents in north Durango, he said.
Marty Kelly Yazzie, 30, is suspected of walking away from his work-release program sometime between noon and 12:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Durango/La Plata Senior Center. La Plata County government notified the public of his escape Tuesday afternoon.
Someone reported a man matching Yazzie’s description at 7:56 a.m. Wednesday. The man was reportedly sitting on metal stairs leading up to Riverview Elementary School, 2900 Mesa Ave., Shupe said.
A police officer tried to approach a man matching Yazzie’s description, but the man took off running toward the Animas River Trail, Shupe said.
“That prompted the lockout at the high school,” Shupe said.
Yazzie was found about 9:15 a.m. hiding in bushes in someone’s yard in the 100 block of Alamo Drive. He was arrested without incident, Shupe said.
shane@durangoherald.comAn earlier version of this story erred in saying local schools went into lockdown. It was a lockout.
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