Police apprehend inmate who escaped from Starke County

KNOX, Ind. — A Starke County Jail inmate who escaped from custody on Tuesday has been apprehended, according to officials.

Law enforcement officers said around 4 p.m. that Bradley Smith was located in Hendricks County, Indiana, more than 100 miles away from where was reported missing.

Smith was reported missing from custody near Starke Hospital in Knox wearing orange pants and no shirt on Tuesday morning.

Photos released on Tuesday afternoon taken from a gas station surveillance camera showed Bradley in Delong.

Bradley was charged in June with battery against a public safety official, resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct, but now he will be facing even more charges related to the escape.

He is scheduled to appear in court August 26, according to court records.

According to jail logs, Smith has been booked into the Hendricks County Hail five times since 2015.

One local said he was surprised by the brazen escape. 

“That’s not something that particularly happens and not with our new jail system," Mitch Thompson said.

A Starke County Jail Receptionist told ABC57 that Smith is still being held in Hendricks County because of a probation violation in Montgomery County.