Escaped Georgia inmate eluded authorities for hours before his capture

Authorities searched for a state prisoner for hours after he escaped early Wednesday afternoon in Jackson.

Danny Ray Bennett, 24 or 25, was last seen near Colwell Road, about 2 miles north of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison before he was captured about 5:30 p.m., according to a Facebook post by the Butts County Sheriff’s Office..

Bennett, whose nickname is “Ray Ray,” is serving time at the Burruss Correctional Facility in Forsyth for crimes in Franklin County including burglary as well as a drug charge from Jackson County, according to the Department of Corrections website.

He escaped from the area of Kermit Williams and Wallace roads, about four miles away and across Interstate 75 from where he was last seen before he was found, according to the sheriff’s office.

This story was originally published June 27, 2018 at 4:23 PM.