Gino Hagenkotter found dead inside warehouse after escaping Philadelphia prison: police
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Gino Hagenkotter, the 34-year-old man who escaped from the Riverside Correctional Facility at the end of November, was found dead inside a Philadelphia warehouse on Monday, police said.
Hagenkotter escaped while he was working a detail assignment in the orchard behind the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Facility (PICC) on Nov. 30.
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Police said officers responded to the 1100 block of E. Venango Street in Philadelphia's Kensington section on Monday for the report of an unresponsive man in a warehouse. The man, later identified as Hagenkotter via fingerprint analysis, was pronounced dead on the scene by medics with the Philadelphia Fire Department. The escaped inmate didn't have any identification on him, according to police.
Police believe Hagenkotter broke into the warehouse after they found a broken air vent, a pushed out-fan and a ladder nearby.
Hagenkotter's cause of death is under investigation by the Philadelphia Police Department and Medical Examiner's Office.
How did Hagenkotter escape?
While Hagenkotter was working on a detail assignment in the orchard behind PICC, Blanche Carney, the Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, said on the day of the escape he asked a guard to use the bathroom.
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After the guard realized Hagenkotter was gone for a while, surveillance video showed the inmate hopping over a fence through the sanitation yard and eventually down Torresdale Avenue.
Why was Hagenkotter in prison?
Hagenkotter was incarcerated for theft and burglary charges. He was working for a good behavior program and was set to be released into a transitional program the day he escaped.
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Carney and police believe Hagenkotter was motivated to escape after he found out he wasn't being released until April due to an unresolved matter in Bucks County.
Other Pa. prison escapes
Hagenkotter's escape was the latest the U.S. Marshals Service and other local law enforcement had to track down in 2023. It marked the third escape from the prison's campus on State Road in Northeast Philly.
In May, Ameen Hurst and Nasir Grant led authorities on a 10 day manhunt after escaping PICC. The incident led to multiple people being charged for their involvement in the escape.
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Later in September, convicted murderer Danelo Cavelcante led law enforcement on a 14-day manhunt in Chester County.
Recently, U.S. Marshals have been searching for escaped inmate Isaiah Tilghman, who has ties to the Philly area. He escaped from the Blair County Prison in western Pennsylvania in December.
Also in western Pennsylvania in Warren County, Michael Burham was captured over a week after making his escape over the summer.
