Inmate captured after escape from Dare detention center

Published 11:37 am Saturday, May 26, 2018

A “security breach” allowed an inmate to escape from the Dare County Detention Center in Manteo early Saturday morning, authorities said.

Zachary Barksdale was captured about an hour and 20 minutes after his 1:20 a.m. escape from the jail in Manteo, said Maj. Jeff Deringer of the Dare County Sheriff’s Office.

The search for the escapee included Manteo, Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills police, NC Highway Patrol and the Dare County EMS Med-Flight crew.

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Authorities did not reveal where Barksdale was captured, but said he was arrested without incident. No one was injured.

The breach that allowed the escape is under investigation, Deringer said.

Authorities didn’t reveal why Barksdale, a Kitty Hawk resident, was jailed prior to the escape, but in 2013 and 2014, he was arrested twice in a span of two months for alleged heroin trafficking.

Barksdale has been charged with fleeing the custody of a county confinement facility, with further charges pending the outcome of the investigation, Deringer said.