S.D. law enforcement catch escaped nonviolent state prisoner near Brookings

STAFF REPORTS

South Dakota Highway Patrol has caught the nonviolent state prisoner who walked away from a job site on the South Dakota State campus Friday morning.

He was found by a South Dakota highway patrolman around 10:30 a.m. near the north side of Brookings, according to Sgt. Isaac Kurtz with South Dakota Highway Patrol. The prisoner was arrested and brought into custody.

Don Challis, vice president of safety and security, sent a campus-wide email alerting students of the escaped prisoner.

As soon as UPD was notified, other law enforcement departments were notified to search for the prisoner. It was a “cooperative efforts in the law enforcement community,” Challis said.

The prisoner is Daniel Bear Hill. He is described as being 5-foot-8 male with short black hair and in his mid 20s, according to the email.

Bear Hill was an inmate working on campus for a work program through the South Dakota Department of Corrections and removed his South Dakota Department of Corrections uniform.

“I think we’ll review everything that happened,” Challis said about the incident and possible changes to ensure it doesn’t happen again.