The pursuit of Dixon began after a late morning assault that sent two women to the hospital.

Dixon, 37, is suspected in the physical assault reported at 11:12 a.m. at an apartment complex on the 5900 block of Norfolk Drive, along Dead Man's Run near Lincoln Lutheran High School.

As police investigated the assault, witnesses around 11:30 reported a man running into a culvert several blocks to the northwest, along Dead Man's Run between 48th and 49th streets.

For the next few hours, police set up a perimeter in the area, blocking intersections but also putting eyes on storm drains and manhole covers. Traffic on 48th Street slowed to a crawl. The city pulled the plug on swimming at University Place Park pool while the search went on.

Eventually a robot was sent into the culvert, with Dixon ultimately emerging from a manhole located about two blocks south of the Dead Man's Run channel.

The investigation into the escape continues, but speaking at Saturday's news conference, Prisons Director Scott Frakes said his department is working closely with law enforcement.

Frakes said the inmates escaped from the prison near Pioneers Park in a truck, but he declined to provide further details.