Juvenile Center escapee recaptured after a few hours

A teenage boy who escaped from the Acadiana Center for Youth juvenile detention facility in Bunkie Thursday was recaptured without incident within a few hours.

A spokeswoman for the Office of Juvenile Justice said ACY staff captured and brought the juvenile back to the center within three hours of his escape.

"When there is an escape, we alert all state and local law enforcement, of course, but we also call his family," the spokeswoman said. "Often they will reach out to their family and the family, in turn, will call us to assist us in returning the juvenile to the center.

"What is of utmost importance in a case like this is that the juvenile is returned safely," she added.

An officer with one local law enforcement agency involved in the search for the youth said he was told the escapee called the detention center and told an ACY staff member he was "cold and wanted someone to come get him and bring him back."

The OJJ spokeswoman could not confirm that account, but did confirm that ACY personnel were the ones who took the boy into custody and returned him to the center.

The youth, who is 16 or 17, was the only resident to escape during this incident.