Escaped Prisoner’s Freedom Fleeting

An inmate at the county’s temporary jail in Santee escaped early Sunday but was captured nearby about 3 1/2 hours later, the Sheriff’s Department reported.

The manhunt for James F. Risner, 19, involved deputies, El Cajon police, a helicopter and police dogs.

Risner was found near the San Diego River just north of the jail at 7 a.m., sheriff’s deputies said.

Risner escaped at 3:25 a.m. by scaling three fences, the second of which has razor wire along the top, said Sgt. Fred Brown, who works at the jail.

“He was seen just prior to going over the third fence,” Brown said.

Brown said prisoners at the facility--a dormitory-style, minimum-security jail--are not housed in cells. He said that Risner was booked May 10 on three counts of unlawfully taking a vehicle, tampering with a vehicle and possession of stolen property. He’s being held in lieu of $2,500 bail.