Huron Jail with History of Escapes Boosting Security

HURON - A county jail in South Dakota with a history of prisoner escapes is taking steps to beef up security.

A man with a criminal history in Kansas and North Dakota escaped from the Beadle County Jail in Huron on Tuesday by using a makeshift weapon to hold a guard hostage. He was later caught.

In 2005, two inmates escaped by bending bars and breaking a window in their cell. One of the men also had escaped in 2003 by scaling a recreation area wall. In 2004, three girls in juvenile detention locked guards inside a cell and escaped.

Sheriff Doug Solem tells KELO-TV that the jail recently upgraded its surveillance system and is working to boost staff. The jail also plans more extensive background checks on incoming inmates.

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