Authorities say one of two inmates who sawed their way out of a California jail and vanished last week has been recaptured.

The search continues for the second inmate.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office says Laron Campbell was taken back into custody in nearby Contra Costa County late Tuesday and was being transported back to Santa Clara County. The agency gave no other details.

Law enforcement officers throughout the area are continuing to look for Rogelio Chavez.


Chavez and Campbell escaped with two other prisoners the night of Nov. 23 from Santa Clara County’s main jail by cutting through the bars covering a second-story window and rappelling to the ground on a bedsheet rope. The others were quickly apprehended.

The two are facing possible life sentences if convicted of burglary, extortion, false imprisonment and other charges on which they were being held. Chavez had been held at the jail since August and Campbell since February 2015.

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