Crime & Safety
[UPDATED] Willimantic Woman Who Escaped from State Low-Security Prison Found
Melissa Riley was found in Hartford Sunday night with another woman who had escaped from the low-security area of the women's prison in Niantic on Saturday.
Two inmates who "walked away" from a minimum security area of York Correctional Institution in Niantic on Saturday night were back behind bars again on Sunday.
State Police at Troop E in Montville said that Melissa Riley, 30, of Willimantic and Jessica Rivera, 34, of Waterbury, had been located on New Britain Avenue in Hartford at about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday night.
State and local police had been searching for the women since they made their escape at about 8:15 p.m. on Saturday.
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Both women were transferred to State Police Troop E in Montville for processing. The women will be returned to York Correctional Institute because it is the only women's prison in the state.
Original story:
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The following information was provided by the state Department of Correction:
A full scale search is underway for two female inmates who escaped from the York Correctional Institution in the Niantic section of East Lyme on Saturday night.
Correctional staff noticed that the pair was not accounted for as a group of inmates who live at Davis Hall were returning from the gymnasium, at approximately 8:15 pm. The facility was placed in lock down and an emergency count was ordered, which identified the two missing offenders.
They are:
Melissa Riley, 30, of Willimantic. She last entered the system on July 18, 2011, on a controlling charge of possession of narcotics, with a sentence of three years and three months to serve.
Jessica Rivera, 34, of Waterbury. She was last returned to the system on July 12, 2011 with a controlling charge of conspiracy, and a total sentence of four years to serve.
The escape is considered a walk away as these offenders were housed on the minimum-security side of the facility, which is not totally secured by a fence.
Emergency notification to local and state officials and members of the public was made late Saturday night via the State’s CT Alert system.
Anyone with information about the inmates is asked to notify state or local police.
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