CAMPBELLTON, N.B. - A convicted killer who escaped from a U.S. prison by literally mailing himself out has been captured by the RCMP in northern New Brunswick.
Richard Lee McNair, 48, was listed by federal marshals as one of the 15 most-wanted criminals in the United States. A $25,000 reward had been offered for his capture.
McNair was convicted of killing Jerome Theis of Circle Pines, Minn., in November 1987, during a burglary at a Minot grain elevator.
Vern Erck, sheriff for Ward County in North Dakota, said Canadian police pulled over McNair in a stolen van.
"It's been a great day for both Canada and the U.S. to get him off the street," he told Associated Press. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."
The RCMP released few details about the capture but have a news conference planned for Friday.
McNair escaped from a federal penitentiary in Pollock, La., in 2006 where he was serving life for the murder.
He was repairing torn mail bags in prison when he hid in a pile that was shrink-wrapped and shipped out to a nearby warehouse. There had been at least two confirmed McNair sightings in Canada since then but he was able to elude capture.
Erck said the fugitive, "in typical McNair fashion," jumped out of the van when confronted by the Mounties and took off running.
"Officers caught him about a quarter-mile later down a gravel road," he said.
McNair had two earlier escapes in North Dakota.
In February 1988, he used a tube of lip balm to grease up his hand and slip out of handcuff at the Minot police station. He was captured after he jumped from the third floor of a building near a Minot hospital.
The second escape came from the North Dakota State Penitentiary. Officials said McNair and two other prisoners escaped through a ventilation duct on Oct. 9, 1992, and was on the lam until the following July 5, when he was captured in Grand Island, Neb.
Erck said McNair nearly escaped from the Ward County Jail while awaiting trial for the grain elevator shootings.
"He chipped out two cinder blocks in his cell," Erck said.
McNair was also featured on the popular TV show "America's Most Wanted."
Richard Lee McNair, 48, was listed by federal marshals as one of the 15 most-wanted criminals in the United States. A $25,000 reward had been offered for his capture.
McNair was convicted of killing Jerome Theis of Circle Pines, Minn., in November 1987, during a burglary at a Minot grain elevator.
Vern Erck, sheriff for Ward County in North Dakota, said Canadian police pulled over McNair in a stolen van.
"It's been a great day for both Canada and the U.S. to get him off the street," he told Associated Press. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."
The RCMP released few details about the capture but have a news conference planned for Friday.
McNair escaped from a federal penitentiary in Pollock, La., in 2006 where he was serving life for the murder.
He was repairing torn mail bags in prison when he hid in a pile that was shrink-wrapped and shipped out to a nearby warehouse. There had been at least two confirmed McNair sightings in Canada since then but he was able to elude capture.
Erck said the fugitive, "in typical McNair fashion," jumped out of the van when confronted by the Mounties and took off running.
"Officers caught him about a quarter-mile later down a gravel road," he said.
McNair had two earlier escapes in North Dakota.
In February 1988, he used a tube of lip balm to grease up his hand and slip out of handcuff at the Minot police station. He was captured after he jumped from the third floor of a building near a Minot hospital.
The second escape came from the North Dakota State Penitentiary. Officials said McNair and two other prisoners escaped through a ventilation duct on Oct. 9, 1992, and was on the lam until the following July 5, when he was captured in Grand Island, Neb.
Erck said McNair nearly escaped from the Ward County Jail while awaiting trial for the grain elevator shootings.
"He chipped out two cinder blocks in his cell," Erck said.
McNair was also featured on the popular TV show "America's Most Wanted."
