FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A Flagler County inmate who faked an injury Saturday so he could escape from the hospital and return home was caught after a seven hour search, the sheriff said.
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office said 29-year-old Anthony Romine took a fall at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility Saturday morning and was transported to AdventHealth for treatment.
While being treated at the hospital, the sheriff's office said Romine escaped while the deputy watching him was distracted. Seven hours later, he was located and caught by the sheriff's office K-9 in a wooded area by a gas station near Interstate 95 and State Road 100.
Deputies were tipped off by a gas station employee who told authorities Romine came into the store and asked to use the phone.
The sheriff's office later uncovered that Romine had faked the injury from his fall "in hopes that he could escape and return to Ohio, where he is originally from."
Romine was originally arrested July 3 on a felony warrant for petit theft, violation of pre-trial release and two counts of counterfeit.
"Now that he has been apprehended, we will start a review of the incident to determine how the deputy assigned to watch him was distracted that resulted in his escape," Sheriff Rick Staly said.
