Man Arrested After Escaping Beltrami County Jail

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A man who was on a work release from the Beltrami County Jail was arrested Thursday morning when left the business for a break and didn't return, authorities said.

Lucas Wayne French, 29, was being held in the Beltrami County Jail on assault charges and maltreatment of a child, stemming from a sword fighting incident that took place July 12 in rural Beltrami County.

French had been granted work release privileges by the court and was working at a local business when he left for a break and didn't return. Authorities learned he had taken money from his employer before disappearing.

French's companion, 31-year-old Carmen Faye Monroe of Bemidji, was arrested in South Dakota on charges of aiding and abetting the escape. French and Monroe left Bemidji with two children whom they did not have legal custody of, and the children were later recovered by police and were not harmed.

French was located by the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Brookings, South Dakota Police and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.