Local police locate escaped inmate

MOSCOW — The Pullman Police Department captured an inmate who escaped an Idaho Department of Corrections work crew Tuesday evening.

Police had alerted the Palouse to be on the lookout for 34-year-old Wayland Savage, who was last seen Tuesday afternoon at the Theophilus Tower on the University of Idaho campus.

Multiple police agencies, including the Whitman County Regional SWAT team, searched the tower in pursuit of Savage, but were unable to locate him. He was last seen wearing black Idaho Vandals “Silver & Gold vibes only” T-shirt that he allegedly stole.

Savage is a minimum security inmate from the Idaho Correctional Institution in Orofino. Moscow Police Capt. Joe Sieverding told the Daily News that Savage was on an IDOC work crew responsible for cleaning rooms in the Theophilus Tower. He walked away from the crew while they were on site.

Someone in the tower saw him hiding in a closet and the police were called just before 2:30 p.m., Sieverding said.

He said there are guards on scene when the inmates are working, but referred questions about their supervision to the IDOC.

An alert was put out after police responded to the scene and the Theophilus Tower was evacuated. Police put a perimeter around the tower while the Pullman Police Department, Latah County Sheriff’s Office, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and the Whitman County Regional SWAT Team searched the campus building. Kootenai County brought their K9 unit to help with the search.

It was announced shortly after 8:30 p.m. that Pullman Police located Savage and took him into custody.

According to IDOC, Savage’s criminal record in Idaho includes a conviction for grand theft from Canyon County and burglary from Ada County. He was to be eligible for parole Mar. 12, 2026, and his sentence was to be discharged Mar. 11, 2032.

Savage doesn’t have any known ties to the Moscow area but is known to have connections in Boise and Montana, according to a city of Moscow news release.

The mood was calm while police searched the Theophilus Tower, though the police presence drew a lot of attention from the families who were there helping students move into their dorms.