HELENA, Mont. – A Helena Prerelease Center employee, hearing something rustling in the bushes, threw a rock at a shrub.
To his surprise, he heard someone say "Hey, you hit me in the head," said Helena Police Cpl. Bill Tompkins.
The rock had hit a 22-year-old escaped convict the center was searching for.
The convict was being transferred by bus from a prison in Seattle to one in Great Falls when he got off at the wrong stop in Helena on Friday, Tompkins said. It wasn't clear if the man meant to get off the bus in Helena or if it was a mix-up, Tompkins said.
The convict contacted the Helena Prerelease Center, which brought him from the bus stop to the center, Tompkins said.
Hours later, center employees noticed the convict was missing and alerted police, Tompkins said. They later called back saying the convict was hiding in bushes outside the center.
Police found the man hiding behind some barrels, and took him into custody for probation violation, Tompkins said.
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