ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Authorities say an inmate who escaped from the Regional Medical Center on Friday afternoon and was believed to be naked is back in custody.
The sheriff's office announced around 5 a.m. that Austin Craig Nettles was back in custody but not before a search of the region and an unusual message from the sheriff's office Friday night.
“Right now we believe he has no clothes on, so he shouldn’t be hard to spot,” Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Major Rene Williams said in a message shared with the community during the search.
The Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office said at the time they are searching an area along St. Matthews Road from Fire Tower Road to State A&M Road. Sheriff Leroy Ravenell added that they believed he was "contained" in a wooded area there.
Still, residents along Fire Tower Road were urged to lock their doors and be on the lookout for Nettles. While the sheriff's office did confirm that he had been taken back into custody, additional details weren't released regarding how that occurred - or how, exactly, he escaped.
