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US man escapes jail with help of prison officer who fell in love with him

This article is more than 12 months old

Their romance story almost seems like something out of a movie.

He was a prisoner awaiting to be sentenced. She was a correctional officer at the jail.

She had the alphabets WEB tattooed on her left ring finger. It so happened to be the initials of his name.

They felt a connection and developed a relationship.

What followed was a daring prison escape on March 13 and a pursuit spanning several states by authorities.

Not his first escape

But the pair of lovers were caught on Wednesday (April 1) 2,768km away after 19 days on the run.

Wesley E. Brown III, 35, and Rachel Chepulis, 26, were arrested outside a store in the US state of Oregon after authorities received a tip-off from a hotel.

This was not Brown's first escape from jail.

The US man had previously escaped another facility in June 2013 before he was moved to the prison where Chepulis worked in.

He was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty on May 12 last year to being a felon in possession of a firearm and an escape charge.

Thanks to his latest attempt, he now faces additional escape charges.

He's a married man

Chepulis has been charged with instigating or assisting an escape, concealing a person from arrest and conspiracy to commit escape. Each charge carries a five-year prison sentence.

NY Daily News quoted chief deputy US marshal for North Dakota Dan Orr​ as saying: "It's clear in the time he was there they developed a relationship."

Brown, however, is a married man with children.

Said Mr Orr: "That he was allowed to escape was assisted by the fact there were mistakes made by the jail.

"He was classified at a lower level than he should have been considering he already escaped from another facility. And he had assistance from the female jailer."

Sources: NY Daily News, Valley News, WDAZ, Grand Forks Herald

united statesUncategorised