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Escaped Northern Minnesota Inmate Captured In Western Wisconsin

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An inmate is back in custody after escaping the Northeast Regional Corrections Center last week.

Keith Bellanger, 33, escaped the facility -- located about 30 miles northwest of Duluth in Saginaw -- late Friday afternoon while he was being transferred to the prison's secure wing, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff's office.

Keith Bellanger
Keith Bellanger (credit: St. Louis Co. Sheriff's Office)

Deputies followed his footprints in the snow to Caribou Lake before losing track, then K-9 officers took over, but lost his trace after trekking several miles into a wooded area.

Bellanger was arrested with the assistance of several agencies Tuesday without incident outside of a Superior, Wisconsin hotel. He is awaiting extradition back to Minnesota in the Douglas County Jail.

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