Colorado focuses on how inmate escaped from prison; materials found near fence

Colo. focuses on how inmate escaped from prison

STERLING, Colo. — Now that an escaped inmate has been captured, Colorado corrections officials will focus on how he managed to flee a maximum-security prison.

Forty-eight-year-old Douglas Alward surrendered Wednesday at a home near Yuma where he had been holding a woman hostage.

State corrections director Ari Zavaras said Alward breached a fence around the Sterling Correctional Facility using materials he apparently got from inside the prison. The unidentified materials were found at the fence.

It was the fourth escape for Alward, who was serving a 20- to- 40-year sentence for attempted murder, assault, burglary and kidnapping. He would have been eligible for parole in two months although he would have faced unspecified federal charges upon his release.