A prisoner serving time for burglary escaped from a transport van in Howard County, Maryland, Wednesday and was recaptured that day after a nine-hour manhunt.

Randy Morris, 38, was being taken from the Jessup Correctional Institute to a medical appointment at 8:30 a.m. when he escaped custody and fled. Morris was not wearing shackles or handcuffs at the time, Howard County Police said.

The other four inmates in the van remained in custody.

After Morris busted free in the area near Maryland Route 32 and Dorsey Run Road in Jessup, a multiagency manhunt began. Headed by Maryland State Police with the aid of local law enforcement, the hunt used people searching by foot as well as aerial drones to track down Morris.

Law enforcement also asked the public for aid. Coming through was WBAL-TV photographer Mac Finney, who was sitting in his car doing editing work when he happened to see Morris. After getting out and asking for Morris’ name, Mr. Finney called the cops.

“I got 911 on the horn, and when he realized I was talking to 911, he started running a little bit through this parking garage. This has never happened to me in 40-some years of covering thousands of news stories,” Mr. Finney told his Baltimore NBC affiliate.

Morris finally was recaptured just after 6 p.m. Wednesday in an industrial park surrounded by a police perimeter, according to WJZ-TV, Baltimore’s CBS affiliate. The area was not far from where Morris had escaped.

Law enforcement did not specify whether his escape would add time to his 10-year sentence for burglary.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.