Inmate Michael C. Burham was in Warren County Prison in Pennsylvania before he attempted a daring escape. He was incarcerated for kidnapping charges against an elderly couple.
He is wanted for questioning in connection to the murder of a woman in May in Jamestown, New York and he is charged with kidnapping an elderly couple in Pennsylvania, forcing them to drive to South Carolina where he was eventually arrested after a four-day manhunt.
His escape technique from Warren County Prison was one that's been seen in the movies many times before. According to police, he made a rope by tying bedsheets together. He then used the rope to slide off the roof of the prison, located next to the county courthouse in downtown Warren in Warren County, east of Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Burham was charged with escape and remains at large as of the writing of this article on Monday, July 10th, 2023.
Although he has not yet been charged with the NY homicide, he has been charged with the Pennsylvania kidnapping. He hijacked an elderly Warren County couple and stole their SUV at gunpoint on May 20th, forcing them to accompany him to South Carolina so he could evade law enforcement.
Burham, last known to live in Russell, Pennsylvania, near Warren, had been held at the Warren County Prison on a $1 million bond in the kidnapping case since June 19th, 2023.
Warren and Jamestown police notified the public about Burham's escape on Facebook posts shortly after midnight on Friday. Burham "was last seen at approximately 1120pm wearing a blue denim jacket," according to the posts, referring to Burham's prison uniform. "All citizens are urged to lock their doors and stay vigilant."
Local and state police are involved in the search, said Lt. Mark Weindorf, crime section supervisor for the Pennsylvania State Police's Troop E based in Lawrence Park, covering Erie, Warren, Crawford, and Venango counties.
Burham's escape was reported to police at 11:26 p.m. on Thursday, July 6th. Another inmate notified the prison staff of Burham's absence at the prison.
Surveillance video depicted Burham and three other inmates gathered in the gym of the Warren County Prison at 10:41 p.m. on Thursday. Burham was seen walking around.
At 11:26 p.m., Burham is seen standing on an exercise machine used for doing pullups. Burham "then exited the yard" through a metal-gated roof.
"After escaping from the yard," according to the complaint, "the Defendant tied a rope which consisted of multiple sheets tied together. The Defendant then tied said rope from the roof and allowed it to hang on a portico.
"The Defendant slid down the rope, landing on the portico, and jumped from the portico to the ground. He then took off on foot."
Although Michael Burham is not charged with the New York homicide, he is a suspect. In that case, Kala Hodgkin was found shot to death on the morning of May 11th, 2023 at a residence in the 100 block of Williams Street.
The FBI in that case charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, which allowed the FBI to get involved in the search for Burham in South Carolina and elsewhere.
At the time Hodgkin was killed, Burham was facing a charge that he raped her, and the arrest warrant in that case was still active, according to the FBI.
On May 20th, 2023, according to the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police received a report that an elderly couple from Sheffield, near Warren, was missing, and that their Honda SUV was not at their residence.
The couple was found unhurt in a cemetery in North Charleston, South Carolina, on May 21st. The FBI said the couple identified Burham as their kidnapper, and said he had abducted them at gunpoint from their home.
With the assistance of other law enforcement agencies, Burham was apprehended in Huger, South Carolina on May 24th. The authorities credited a resident of Berkeley County, South Carolina, of spotting Burham near his house and calling 911, the FBI said. The FBI said law enforcement agencies used K-9 dogs to track Burham, and he was arrested without incident.
The U.S. Marshals are offering a $7,500 reward for information leading to Burham's capture, and the Warren County Crime Stoppers are offering $2,000, according to Lt. Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police.
Police have expanded into wooded areas to search for Burham as he is known to possess survivalist skills and would not be out of his element hiding out in remote locations.
He is considered to be very dangerous. According to Bivens, he is "entirely likely" to be armed. Do not approach him if you see him. Call 911 or the Pennsylvania State Police.
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