Two inmates who escaped custody from the provincial courthouse in Charlottetown have been found and are back in jail facing new charges.

"We had gotten a call from a citizen who observed two men in leg shackles running away from the area of the courthouse," said Deputy Chief Brad MacConnell, Charlottetown Police Services.

Police said the caller saw the men running across a nearby parking lot around 2 p.m. Thursday.

"Our first call was to the courthouse to see if they were missing prisoners, and sure enough … they had taken stock and they were missing two prisoners," MacConnell said.

He walked back to the courthouse and basically knocked on the door and turned himself in. — Deputy Chief Brad MacConnell

Charlottetown police, including major crime and street crime units, assisted by RCMP K-9 units searched the area.

Both men, ages 27 and 35, were back in custody by 3 p.m.

One inmate turns himself in

"One individual actually turned himself back — had second thoughts I'm assuming — and went back to the courthouse," MacConnell said.

"He walked back to the courthouse and basically knocked on the door and turned himself in."

How this happened, I guess will be subject to much scrutiny over the next few days — Deputy Chief Brad MacConnell

Police located the second inmate at 2:55 p.m. at a home on Upper Hillsborough Street. He was arrested without any injury. MacConnell said the inmate knew the people who lived there.

He said the two men were not considered a risk to the public, so there was no public advisory issued.

Investigating escape

Charlottetown police will be working with the sheriff's office to investigate how the two inmates escaped.

The inmates had been taken from the jail to the courthouse for a court appearance.

Although MacConnell doesn't know what happened to these specific inmates, he said those in custody are usually kept in locked holding cells.

"They're under video surveillance and certainly lock and key and are monitored," he said. "What led to this event or how this happened, I guess will be subject to much scrutiny over the next few days."

One of the doors inside the courthouse was damaged during the escape. The two men now face new charges of escape from custody, and damage to property.

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