A Pennsylvania man released from jail quickly found himself back behind bars. That can happen when you're still wearing a prisoner's uniform.
Daniel Lee Swope, 25, had done his 30 days at the Westmoreland County Jail (search) near Greensburg, southeast of Pittsburgh, and was discharged accordingly last Thursday.
There was one small hitch, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Prison workers couldn't find Swope any street clothes to wear, so he was made to walk out the door wearing a bright orange jumpsuit with the words "FAYETTE COUNTY PRISON" stenciled across the back.
Swope had been transferred from that jail in the next county because of overcrowding. Presumably, his own clothes, like lost airline luggage, had not made the same journey.
"It was just a bunch of bull crap," Swope, who'd been sent up for violating a protection-from-abuse order, told the newspaper.
Newly free, but lacking transportation, he began walking down U.S. Route 119 to a Kings Family Restaurant (search) franchise, about half a mile away.
By the time he got to the restaurant, a worried driver, spotting what he thought was an escaped convict, had already called 911.
Swope barely had time to use the bathroom and a pay phone before police showed up and took him right back to jail, where Warden John Walton, having heard the 911 call, was waiting to straighten the story out.
Prison officials rustled up a regular shirt for Swope to wear and let him go again.
"It's probably someone else's shirt," he said. "It was still wet from laundry."
This time, he got a ride to the restaurant, where his mother-in-law came to pick him up.
— Thanks to Out There reader Todd N.
Schoolteacher Gets Stuck With Dumb Move
CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (AP) — At least she got to see a couple of great blue herons.
Joan Indusi, a 52-year-old schoolteacher, got stuck in a mudhole on the Hudson River shoreline for more than an hour last Tuesday when she left a footpath in Croton Point Park (search) in search of feathered friends.
"I never believed you could get stuck to the point where you literally could not move," she said Wednesday, "but I was up to my knees and I was trying to lift my leg up and I couldn't."
She struggled for an hour "and then I realized I was going to need help," she said.
Luckily, she was carrying a cell phone along with her birding binoculars and was able to call police.
She was unable to tell the officers exactly where she was, however, so they drove to the park and sounded a siren periodically. She would then tell them if they were getting closer or farther away.
"I was fortunate in that I had a good connection," she said.
Indusi said she never became frightened "because I knew what my options were and the tide was out so I had hours before the tide would come in. I think I probably could have gotten out on my own but it would have been a big struggle and it could have taken a long time."
She also thought she might come across another mudhole "maybe in the middle of some 12-foot-tall reeds, and no one would find me there."
Indusi was finally located by Westchester County police and Croton police, who sent her to Phelps Memorial Hospital Center (search) for a once-over and a tetanus shot. She was working on curriculum plans on Wednesday.
Indusi said she showed "very poor judgment" in leaving the footpath and added, "Croton Point Park is a beautiful, safe park, very nature-friendly. I don't want people to think they're going to fall into quicksand or something."
— Thanks to Out There reader Travis R.
Boy Pretends to Be Airline Luggage
OSLO, Norway (AP) — A four-year-old boy caused chaos at a Norwegian airport this week when he crawled on a luggage conveyor belt and road it like it was a merry-go-round.
Ingvild Aakervik was checking in at the Vigra airport near the western town of Aalesund (search) Monday when her four-year-old son Ole Tobias wandered off by himself.
Unnoticed by airport staff or passengers he managed to crawl onto a luggage carousel next to an unmanned check-in counter.
Surrounded by bags and suitcases, the boy rode the entire length of the belt, passing through an X-ray scanner in the process.
The ride came to a sudden end when staffers saw the youngster on the carousel and stopped it by pressing an alarm button.
"It was just a moment of inattention and Ole Tobias disappeared," Aakervik told state NRK radio. "I panicked and made the entire airport search for him."
The four-year-old wasn't hurt and his mother said he seemed to enjoy the ride.
Operations manager Bent Helge Sjursen said security procedures at the airport would be reviewed to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Epidemic of Chess Violence Spreads
SLIDELL, La. (AP) — An argument over a game of chess ended with a fight in which one player rammed the other's head through a plate-glass window, St. Tammany Parish authorities said.
Robert Talley, 34, was booked with second-degree battery and later released on bond, Sheriff's department spokesman James Hartman said.
Robert Henderson, 42, emerged from the broken window with several serious lacerations, deputies said. He was released after treatment at Northshore Regional Medical Center (search), Hartman said.
The fight occurred about 1 a.m. Sunday at Talley's house, which is about five miles from Henderson's.
Borrowed Cop Car Comes In Handy
HOWLAND, Ohio (AP) — Warren Mayor Michael O'Brien went to shop for vitamins and ended up catching a suspected thief.
O'Brien was shopping at a drug store Monday in this neighboring northeast Ohio community when he heard an assistant manager yell, "Stop!"
A man had left the Rite Aid store with what police later said was $740 in merchandise.
O'Brien happened to be driving a detective cruiser while his city car was in the shop. He followed the man, turned on the lights and siren, pulled over a 1988 Pontiac and called for backup.
The mayor said his citizen's arrest went smoothly.
"I told the men to get out of the car and don't move and they listened to what I said," O'Brien said. "When they turned around I said don't move and they didn't."
Howland police Sgt. Jeff Urso said officers arrested Ivan Sparks, of Warren, on a felony charge of theft and the driver of the car, Marquis Reynolds, also of Warren, on an outstanding warrant.
Rite Aid assistant manager Linda Stewart told police that a man fitting Sparks' description tried to leave the store with a basket of merchandise that included cigarettes and cologne.
"I dove for the basket because I wanted my merchandise back," she said. "The mayor ran to his car, the lights went on and he pulled him over just like on 'Dragnet.'"
Neglecting a Pet, Negligent Homicide, Same Thing
ROGERS, Ark. (AP) — City officials are considering a proposal to fine pet owners up to $1,000 and jail them for a year if they fail to pick up their stray dogs or cats after six days — the same penalties as someone convicted of negligent homicide.
While the city says the suggested ordinance tracks with state law, pet owners fear the proposal is excessive.
"I think jail time may be a little severe. What if you're on vacation and someone else is taking care of your dog when it leaves?" said Kathy Jones, who owns a dog named Toby.
Under the ordinance scheduled for discussion Tuesday, pet owners could be cited for animal abandonment on the seventh day of impoundment.
James Willett, director of code enforcement for the city, said the proposed ordinance mirrors the state's law against cruelty to animals regarding animal abandonment. He said fines would likely be lower.
"The judge is going to make the determining factor; nothing is set in stone. It's like shoplifting or driving while intoxicated. People who get DWIs get less than the maximum fine," Willett said.
Donkey Versus Donkey for Mayor
FLORISSANT, Colo. (AP) — No elephants need apply.
This unincorporated area on Saturday re-elected Paco Bell, a donkey, as its mayor, and that wasn't even close. Two of the four candidates didn't show up.
It's all part of the 15th annual Heritage Days in the town between Divide and Lake George on Colorado Highway 24. Residents like to poke fun at the political process, and they do it by electing a donkey as mayor. Paco Bell won re-election against two no-shows and a white donkey named Birdie.
"We had one who was colicky, so he couldn't make it, and another one's trailer broke down, so he couldn't come either," said organizer Tracie Bennitt.
Volunteers from the Pikes Peak Historical Society (search) stuffed Paco Bell's ballot box with donations, ensuring him a second term.
Dagney Hales, 8, and Sam Easto, 7, fed the mayor wild goldenrod, green stalks with little yellow flowers, and Teller County Sheriff Kevin Dougherty swore in the incumbent.
"This is good and rural," Dougherty said. "We love doing this kind of stuff."
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
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