Prison Officer Held as Hostage ‘Doing OK’

A corrections officer who has been held hostage for two weeks in a prison guard tower appeared to be “doing OK,” a prison official said. The tower of the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis was lighted up by floodlights for the first time since the confrontation began Jan. 18. Prison officials would not say why.

Negotiators heard the captive guard’s voice during a telephone check. “She is alert and she’s mobile, and she appears to be doing OK under the circumstances,” Corrections Department representative Ivan Bartos said.