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Escaped kidnapping convict caught
Nelson mug compositeweb
Cecil Red Dewitt Nelson, 33, pled guilty in August to participating in two kidnappings in Bryan County last December and January. - photo by Photo provided.

Law enforcement officials have caught a Pembroke man who escaped from jail last week.

According to FBI Special Agent Stephen Emmett, Cecil “Red” Dewitt Nelson, 33, was taken into custody Monday night at his mother’s house in Pembroke.

Nelson was in jail for his part in two Bryan County kidnappings and escaped Saturday with five other inmates. The men escaped around 11 p.m. through a door into a mechanical area in the jail, Emanuel County Sheriff Tyson Stephens said. The jail had plumbing work done Friday night and a worker neglected to lock a door, he said.

Once the men got into the mechanical area, they were able to reach the roof and then climb down to freedom, the sheriff said.

Three inmates were back in custody by 6 p.m. Sunday, Stephens said.

On Monday, authorities were offering a reward for up to $5,000 for information leading to the capture of Nelson, who pleaded guilty Aug. 16 to one count of conspiracy to kidnap.

Together with Gary McDonald, who pled guilty July 26, and Antonio Lamont Murray, who was convicted Aug. 22, Nelson committed two separate kidnappings in Bryan County in December 2011 and January 2012 in which both victims were forcibly abducted at gunpoint and later released after ransoms were paid.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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