It was a local law enforcement nightmare. A high profile inmate escapes from custody while on his way to a court appearance. Wearing a second layer of clothing under his orange jail garb, the armed robbery suspect slipped into an non-secure area where he removed the outer layer, and simply walked out of the Justice Center unnoticed.
Thomas Lee Doyle escaped Wednesday morning, July 18 and went missing for nearly ten hours. Law officers from at least four agencies scoured the county for the fugitive all day Wednesday. It was nearly 8 p.m. before state troopers and county deputies finally ran the man to earth south of Lafayette.
Tom Doyle, 50 of Pittsburgh, PA, was taken back into custody and returned to the Macon County Jail without further incident.
The morning escape took place as several inmates were on their way from their jail cells to a secure holding area to await court proceedings.
Thomas Doyle had apparently planned the escape by concealing a pair of gray jogging pants and a gray tee shirt under his orange jumpsuit.
Local law enforcement agencies, including the T.B.I. and the U.S. Marshals Service were notified following the discovery of the Doyle's escape, and an intense search was launched.
The Macon County Sheriff's Department, Lafayette Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and U.S. Marshals conducted a grid search of the Macon County area throughout the day, but Doyle eluded law enforcement until early evening.
“We attempted to use our local K-9 Units to track down Doyle,” Detective Bill Cothron stated.
The Lafayette Police Department K-9 Handler/Officer J J Ruiz with K-9 Leah and the Macon County's Sheriff's Department K-9 Handler/Deputy Mark Bartley with K-9 Buzz were both deployed. The K-9 Units tracked the escaped inmate to a point and then lost the scent.
Information was received about a possible sighting of the escapee as word got out. At mid-morning a State Trooper noticed a subject riding a bicycle in the Westside area who fit the description of the missing inmate.
“We located that subject and found out that it obviously was not our man,” Detective Cothron said.
Finally, around 7:45 p.m., several tips were received from motorists about a man fitting Doyle's description attempting to flag down cars for a ride on Hwy.10-South.
“We responded to that area and talked to some witnesses that could give us some pretty good descriptions and the last location that they had spotted him,” related Detective Bill Cothron of the county Sheriff's Department.
Law enforcement agencies converged on a hillside close to Summers Radiator Shop and the fugitive was found hiding among some downed trees, behind a large log.
Thomas Lee Doyle was charged with felony escape. Other possible charges are pending.
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