LAPORTE, Ind. (WOOD) — A man convicted of four 1993 murders who escaped Sunday from a state prison outside of Ionia was captured in Indiana Monday evening. 
 
 Michael David Elliot, 40, was arrested in Kankakee Township in rural LaPorte County, Ind., and allegedly stole a total of four vehicles in his 24-hour run from the law. He was arraigned Tuesday in Indiana on auto theft charges. 
 
 The sheriff’s department had been looking for a black 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that was stolen from the area of Boyd Avenue and E. Lincolnway in LaPorte, authorities said. Deputy Jeffrey Wright said the vehicle’s engine was on so it would warm up when it was taken. The sheriff’s department was alerted to the theft at 6:16 p.m. ET, according to a Monday night news release. 
 
 Within minutes of learning of the theft, Deputy Slawek Czupryna spotted the stolen vehicle headed south on Boyd Boulevard in LaPorte. He attempted a traffic stop, but the driver didn’t pull over. Instead, the driver fled, leading deputies on a short chase. 
 
 Stop Sticks were deployed just before 6:30 p.m., the sheriff’s office said. 
 
 “He ran over a couple of sets of Stop Sticks that some of our sergeants had laid out, so his tires were going flat. He lost control of the vehicle and slid into a snowbank,” Deputy Wright told 24 Hour News 8. 
 
 That snowbank was at the T-intersection of N 250 E between East Division and E 150 N in Kankakee Township, east of LaPorte. 
 
 Elliot then tried to climb out of the car’s window, Wright said. Deputies Czupryna and Wright each grabbed one of Elliot’s shoulders, pulled him from the car, laid him on the ground and handcuffed him. No one was hurt. 
 
 When asked what his name was, Elliot answered truthfully, Wright said. He said he asked Elliot if he was “‘the Michael Elliot,” and Elliot confirmed he was the escapee. Wright said he was surprised that Elliot didn’t lie about his identity. 
 
 Wright then put Elliot into the back of his cruiser and took him to the LaPorte County Jail. Elliot is being held without bond on felony car theft and resisting charges. 
 
 Wright described Elliot was polite to officers, and quiet and emotionless during the ride to jail. Elliot looked tired, Wright said, like he had not slept in days. Wright said Elliot was wearing jeans that were too big and “a couple of jackets.” 
 
 Wright said authorities didn’t know Elliot would be in their area — there was more concern he may be in the Shipshewana area — and that he did not expect the man he was chasing to be Elliot. Wright said he was relieved that he and Czupryna were able to get Elliot off the streets and bring worried citizens some peace of mind. 
 
 In a Monday night news release, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder thanked the law enforcement agencies that aided in the search and capture of Elliot. “The swift apprehension of this dangerous criminal is a credit to law enforcement and corrections officials in Michigan and Indiana, and our partners with the U.S. Marshals Service. Their courage, diligence and professionalism reminds us how fortunate we are to have such men and women who are willing to keep our communities safe. …Now that we are assured the public is safe, we will turn our attention to thoroughly reviewing the situation that led to the prisoner’s escape. We will demand an exhaustive assessment of the incident and take whatever appropriate action is needed to prevent future incidents.” 
 
 Elliot escaped around 7 p.m. Sunday from the Ionia Correctional Facility, but jail workers didn’t notice he was missing until a routine prisoner check at 9 p.m. 
 
 Authorities said Elliot left through the sally port, a secured garage where prisoners are brought into the facility. Elliot then got through a hole in the fencing system which, according to a former corrections officer, is made up of two 12-foot high, razor wire-topped fencing sections with a smaller, electrified fence in between them. 
 
 He then made a three-and-a-half mile trek into Ionia where he carjacked a woman, police said. The two then drove to the Elkhart, Ind. area. The woman escaped at a gas station there and he fled in her Jeep Liberty. That SUV was found early Monday morning in Shipshewana, Ind. 
 
 LaPorte County, where Elliot was arrested, is west of Shipshewana. 
 
 Elliot was serving five life sentences in the Ionia Correctional Facility after being convicted of four 1993 murders. 
 
 In the early morning of Aug. 8, 1993, according to court documents, Elliot broke into a home in Bentley Township, north of Midland, killed four people then set the house on fire. Vickie Currie, her boyfriend Michael Tufnell, his cousin Bruce Squires Tufnell Jr. and fiancee Cathy Lave were killed. 
 
 Charles and Paul Treece, and Tammy LaCross were with Elliot when the murders were committed. Charles Treece was also convicted of four counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery and setting a house on fire, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a firearm. He is also serving life in prison at the Alger Correctional Facility in Munising in the Upper Peninsula. 
 
 LaCross, who was 16 at the time and is victim Vickie Currie’s daughter, and Paul Treece both testified against Elliot. Under the terms of plea agreements, they pleaded guilty to robbery and felony firearm charges. 
 
 In 2005, Elliot filed a motion for release, saying that there was new evidence in his case — namely a 1994 letter from Charles Treece that attested to Elliot’s innocence. A state court denied his request. 
 
 Elliot maintains he is innocent, according to the court documents. 
 
 —– 
 
 Inside woodtv.com: 
 
 Michael Elliot escapes from Ionia Correctional Facility 
 
 Former guard: Elliot’s escape a ‘mystery’ 
 
 ‘Thorough’ investigation of escape promised 
 
 Son ‘proud’ of Elliot’s carjack victim for staying calm 
 
 Victim’s mother worried Elliot would kill again 
 
 Life as a Level II prison inmate 
 
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 Reddit ||||| IONIA, Mich. (AP) — A convicted killer who authorities say managed to evade guards and peel through two electrically charged fences to escape a Michigan prison was tripped up by transportation issues once on the outside. 
 
 An imaage from a video surveillance camera release by the Michigan State Police shows Ionia Correctional Facility escapee Michael David Elliot, 40, at an Indiana Marathon gas station late Sunday night.... (Associated Press) 
 
 This Feb. 11, 2013 photo provided by the Michigan Department of Corrections shows Michael David Elliot. Elliot, who is serving life behind bars for murder in four 1993 deaths in Michigan, has escaped... (Associated Press) 
 
 Dan Heyns, director of Michigan Department of Corrections, talks about Michael David Elliot's Sunday escape from the Ionia Correctional Facility Monday, Feb. 3, 2014. An intense manhunt was underway Monday... (Associated Press) 
 
 This Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 image provided by the LaPorte County Sheriff's office shows escaped prisoner Michal David Elliot. Elliot, a convicted killer who peeled a hole in two fences with his hands to... (Associated Press) 
 
 Snow blankets the Ionia Correctional Facility in Michigan Monday Feb. 3, 2014. A national manhunt is underway for convicted murderer Michael Elliot who escaped Sunday from the prison. (AP Photo/The... (Associated Press) 
 
 A guard tower stands over fencing at the Ionia Correctional Facility Monday, Feb. 3, 2014. A national manhunt is underway for convicted killer Michael Elliot who escaped from the prison on Sunday. (AP... (Associated Press) 
 
 After losing the woman he abducted and ditching her Jeep in an Indiana town, authorities say Michael David Elliot made his way to another Indiana community, where he stole another vehicle. But a sheriff's deputy quickly spotted the stolen Chevrolet Monte Carlo on Monday evening and chased after it, leading to Elliot's capture. 
 
 No one was injured in the chase, and the abducted woman also wasn't hurt. 
 
 Authorities are now left to sort out exactly how Eliot was able to get out of the Michigan prison. Fences were equipped with motion sensors to alert guards. The fences also carry electric current to shock anyone who touches them. 
 
 "It appears that did not happen. ... He was not zapped with electricity, and he was not picked up by the motion sensors," prisons spokesman Russ Marlan said. 
 
 Marlan said late Monday that Michigan would immediately begin the extradition process. The LaPorte County Sheriff's Department said he's being charged there with motor vehicle theft and resisting law enforcement, but authorities didn't say if he would stay in Indiana to face those allegations. 
 
 Officials were stunned by the brazen escape Sunday night. Elliot, who had a record of good behavior during his 20 years in custody, wore a white kitchen uniform to evade security and blend in with snow at the Ionia Correctional Facility in western Michigan, authorities said. 
 
 "We had dog teams. We had a helicopter from the state police," said Michigan Corrections Department Director Dan Heyns. "The response was good, but he'd left the area by the time we were mobilized totally 100 percent. It didn't take him long to get down to Indiana." 
 
 Nothing in Elliot's record suggested he might escape, said Heyns, who added, "This is entirely a one-man operation." 
 
 Once outside the prison, Elliot, 40, abducted a woman and stole her Jeep, authorities said. The woman escaped late Sunday when Elliot stopped for gas in Middlebury, Ind., some 100 miles south. The red Jeep was found abandoned nearby in Shipshewana on Monday. 
 
 The discovery prompted officers to go door-to-door in the area. Residents were warned to stay inside and at least one school as locked down. 
 
 An alert was issued to law enforcement nationwide. The woman told police that Elliot was armed with a box cutter and a hammer, and had said he wanted to get as far from the Michigan prison as possible. 
 
 Authorities tracked him down after the LaPorte County Sheriff's Department got a report of a car stolen from a factory in the city of LaPorte, said sheriff's Maj. John Boyd. A deputy who happened to be nearby spotted the stolen Chevrolet Monte Carlo "within a few seconds," Boyd said. 
 
 Once the car was stopped, Elliot tried to unsuccessfully to run, Boyd said. But he was arrested and taken to the LaPorte County Jail, where he was being held without bond. 
 
 Elliot was discovered missing from the Michigan prison about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, probably 2 ½ hours after he escaped by using his hands to create a hole in two fences, Marlan said. 
 
 "There was a perimeter vehicle with an armed officer who was circling the facility during this time period. (Elliot) was able to evade or avoid detection," Marlan said. 
 
 He said it wasn't immediately known if electronic security measures at the fence were not working or if Elliot somehow avoided them. 
 
 The woman who was abducted was able to call 911 from a concealed cellphone while Elliott was pumping gas at the store near Middlebury in Elkhart County, Ind., authorities said. She ran to a restroom and locked herself inside. Elliot knocked on the door, but she stayed inside until police arrived. 
 
 Elliot was serving life in prison without parole for fatally shooting four people and burning down their Gladwin County house in 1993 when he was 20 years old, according to court records. Elliot and his accomplices were trying to steal money from a drug dealer, police said. ||||| GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A convicted murderer's getaway from a West Michigan prison was brought to a halt when he was was arrested in Indiana after allegedly stealing an idling vehicle from a parking lot, authorities said. 
 
 Michael Elliot, 40, escaped from the Ionia Correctional Facility some time around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, authorities said. Officials said Elliot, who was serving multiple life sentences for four murders, fled the maximum-security prison by creating holes at the bottoms of two perimeter fences. 
 
 A jury found Elliot guilty of killing four people in 1993 in Gladwin County. He was sentenced in 1994 to life in prison without parole for four counts of first-degree murder, arson and entering without breaking. 
 
 While on the road, authorities said Elliot used a box cutter to abduct a woman in the 600 block of West Main Street in Ionia and carjack her Jeep Liberty. She drove him to Middlebury, Ind., where she was able to call police around midnight while locked in a Marathon gas station bathroom. 
 
 The son of the Belding woman, who is in her late-50s, said he was proud of his mother's ability to remain calm during the ordeal. She was resting at home Monday. 
 
 Her stolen Jeep Liberty was recovered in an abandoned parking lot in Shipshewana, Ind., about 1 p.m. Monday, Michigan State Police said. 
 
 Authorities in LaPorte County, Ind., were alerted about 5:16 p.m. CST to a 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo stolen from the parking lot of Aero Metals in LaPorte. 
 
 Deputy Slawek Czupryna located the car within moments and attempted a traffic stop, LaPorte County Sheriff's officials said in a news release. 
 
 Elliot led deputies into a rural area of the county, where authorities deployed stop sticks shortly before 5:30 p.m. Elliot attempted to run from the disabled vehicle but was apprehended. No one was injured during the pursuit, deputies said. 
 
 Elliot is lodged at LaPorte County Jail on felony counts of motor vehicle theft and resisting police. He is held without bond. 
 
 "We're just pleased that he was a very dangerous offender ... and he was brought back into custody this evening over a short period of time," Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan said. 
 
 Officials plan to begin the extradition process immediately. 
 
 An investigation will aim to piece together Elliot's actions during his time on the road. 
 
 Elliot's prison file didn't raise concerns of him being an escape risk, Marlan said, but "he obviously exploited a vulnerable part of our security system." 
 
 It's believed that Elliot, who is not a kitchen worker, either stole or was provided a white kitchen outfit he wore during the escape. He spent about an hour using his hands to create holes in the inside and outside perimeter fences. 
 
 Marlan earlier Monday said a security vehicle was patrolling the facility perimeter during the time of Elliot's escape. The particular area where Elliot escaped has been addressed at the Ionia Correctional Facility and other facilities in the state, Marlan said. 
 
 "We've made improvements. We're continuing to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the escape," he said. 
 
 Gov. Rick Snyder in a statement Monday night credited the collaboration among law enforcement officers, corrections officials in Michigan and Indiana, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Now that the public is safe, officials will focus on reviewing how Elliot escaped. 
 
 “We will demand an exhaustive assessment of the incident and take whatever appropriate action is needed to prevent future incidents," he said. 
 
 Angie Jackson covers public safety and breaking news for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email her at ajackso3@mlive.com, and follow her on Twitter.
– A convicted killer who escaped from a Michigan prison yesterday and carjacked a woman has been arrested after a car chase in rural LaPorte Country, Indiana, WNDU reports. Michael David Elliot, 40, allegedly stole a woman's red jeep and abandoned it in the small town of Shipshewana, Indiana, this afternoon. A woman spotted the car and called police, who said the vehicle had been seen in the area as early as 5:30am. Knowing Elliot "can go a lot of places in seven hours," police went door-to-door and had schools locked down before releasing students under a heavy police presence. Then a call about a stolen vehicle came in to the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office, and a deputy saw the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, WOOD-TV reports. But the driver kept going and led authorities on a 5-minute chase. Stop sticks disabled his tires in Kankakee Township; Elliot jumped out and tried to run but was arrested and booked. He was serving five life sentences for the murders of four people when he broke out of the Ionia Correctional Facility yesterday by slipping through a gap in the fencing system.