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Escaped Ferndale inmate caught

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James Rogers escaped from Ferndale Sunday and was caught a few hours later.

A convicted murderer who was on the lam from Ferndale Institution in Mission was located and returned to custody last night (Sunday).

James Edward Rogers, 58, was missing from a late-morning head count at the minimum-security prison on Sunday. He had last been seen at about 7:30 a.m.

A member of the public had seen a photo that was released by the RCMP after Rogers was reported missing, and thought that he saw the inmate walking east on the shoulder of Lougheed Highway near Deroche (east of Mission).

Mission RCMP went to the scene and confirmed the man was Rogers. He was arrested without incident.

Rogers is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and aggravated assault. He killed Karen Hunter in the summer of 1983 while robbing a convenience store in Alliston, Ont. – about 80 km from Toronto.

Ferndale Institution is a minimum-security federal facility operated by the Correctional Service of Canada. It currently houses 129 male offenders. Only those inmates who are assessed as having a low risk to public safety are placed in a minimum security Institution.