Sex offender who escaped in Kansas in June arrested in Utah

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A convicted sex offender who walked out of Larned State Hospital in Kansas in June has been recaptured in Utah, the U.S. Marshal’s Service said Tuesday.

John Freeman Colt, 42, was arrested after a citizen saw him camping on federal land in Wayne County, Utah, according to Ronald Miller, U.S. Marshal for the District of Kansas.

the Wayne County Sheriff’s office was organizing to arrest Colt when they saw him pass by on a motorcycle. Colt was captured him after a brief chase, Miller said.

Colt escaped Larned in June by creating a staff ID badge and pretending to be a doctor. The U.S. Marshals Service said Colt convinced a worker he was a new doctor and needed help finding his way out of the hospital, KWCH reported.

Colt apparently had help and was able to buy a motorcycle while on the run, Miller said.

Colt was initially sentenced to five years in state prison in December of 2001 for sex-related convictions, aggravated burglary and four counts of aggravated battery against law enforcement.

After his sentence, he was determined to be a sexually violent predator and was indefinitely committed to Larned’s Sexual Predator Treatment Program in 2007.