LARNED — An escapee from the Sexual Predator Treatment Program has been returned to custody on the Larned State Hospital campus, Pawnee County officials reported Monday.

The Pawnee County Sheriff’s Office reported Monday that it was notified at approximately 10 p.m. Friday of an escape from the SPTP unit at LSH. 

Local law enforcement agencies were immediately notified by PCSO of the incident and a search was organized, the PCSO said. Agencies included the sheriff’s offices from Kiowa, Edwards, Clark, Ford and Barton counties, as well as the Larned and Great Bend police departments and their K-9 and drone units.

The escapee, who was not named, was apprehended within the vicinity of Camp Pawnee, west of Larned in Pawnee County, with the assistance of a drone utilized by the Edwards County Sheriff’s Office, within hours of notification, the PCSO said. The escapee was then returned to SPTP custody.