Captured escapee dies in jail

Published 12:00 am Thursday, April 17, 2003

A Covington County Jail inmate who walked away from a work release program last week, Brandy Keith Owens, 35, was apprehended by the Covington County Sheriff's Department Tuesday, but was later found dead at the Covington County Jail according to a release from the Sheriff's Department.

Wednesday, April 16, at 10:50 a.m., an Andalusia rescue service was called to the jail in reference to the death of an inmate, which sheriff's officials identified as Owens.

On Tuesday, deputies with the department received information from a confidential informant that Owens was at a trailer south of Kinston. Deputies along with officers from the Opp Police Department, Kinston Police Department, Coffee County Sheriff's Department and agents with the Covington County Drug Task Force responded to the residence. Upon arrival officers were given consent from the trailer's owner and entered the residence where they found Owens in the back bedroom and took him into custody.

Owens was charged with escape in the third degree and was being held in the Covington County Jail. Owens was working under supervision at the Covington Center Arena in Andalusia at the time he initially was shown as missing. At the time of his departure from the work program, he was serving time at the jail on child support charges.

The case has been turned over to the Alabama Bureau of Investigations, and continues to be under investigation.

- Jeffery Biggs contributed to this report.