Wanted poster provided by the US Marshal's Office
WAYNE COUNTY, Utah — A violent sex offender accused of escaping from a mental institution in Kansas was captured in Utah after months at large.
KSL TV reports John Freeman Colt was discovered in Wayne County after a tipster notified the sheriff’s office.
The US Marshal’s Office released a wanted poster advertising a reward of up to $10,000 this summer after Colt allegedly escaped from a mental hospital. Marshals accused Colt of disguising himself as a doctor, convincing a new employee at the facility he was a staff member who needed help finding the way out.
A tipster recognized Colt in the Torrey area, about 60 miles southeast of Richfield, notifying the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office to the location of his campsite.
KSL TV reports when deputies approached the campsite, they said Colt took off on a motorcycle at speeds around 100 miles per hour. They eventually caught up with him. He now awaits transportation back to Kansas from the Sevier County jail.
Colt served a five year prison sentence for aggravated sexual battery and attempted rape starting in 2001. When his sentence was done, a Kansas court ruled Colt was too dangerous for release, sending him instead to the mental hospital for sexual predator treatment.