Escaped inmate with local ties found and returned to corrections

July 31, 2020  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

Shannon F. Edwards.Vermont State Police photo.

The search for a local man who escaped from a state prison in St. Johnsbury last week ended Monday when he was found hurt and dehydrated very close to the jail. 

Shannon F. Edwards was reported to have escaped from an open window at the Northeast Correctional Complex shortly before 1 a.m. on July 24. Corrections officials said he used a mattress to protect himself when he scaled a perimeter fence topped with razor wire. 

Rachel Feldman, spokeswoman for the Vermont Department of Corrections, said on Monday that a corrections officer on duty along the perimeter at the facility spotted movement in the woods nearby. When officers investigated, they found Edwards, Feldman said. 

“He was taken to Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital where he was treated for dehydration and injuries,” she said, adding that they included several broken bones. “He fell some distance,” Feldman said, explaining that the fence around the prison is 14 feet high with an additional two and a half feet of razor wire on top.  

The department’s procedures after an incident such as this is to do a review that looks at the circumstances of what happened to note how and why it happened and to make recommendations, Feldman said. 

When asked about the open window and Edwards’ ability to get out carrying a mattress, Feldman said she couldn’t comment further on the details but they likely would be addressed in the after-action review report expected possibly within a week or so of Edwards’ return. 

Edwards, who grew up in Waterbury, was released from the hospital and taken to Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield where he will receive care for his injuries while in custody, Feldman said. 

Department of Corrections records show that Edwards was serving a sentence to end in October 2027 with the earliest release date in March 2022. He was serving time for multiple charges including four felony burglaries, other minor thefts and possession of stolen property. He now will likely face escape charges.