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CNN Live Today

Prisoner Lives in Airducts

Aired May 21, 2002 - 14:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From Canada, officials there want to know how an inmate could hide inside an Alberta prison for seven weeks' time. Many had thought that Ray Tudor escaped, but last week he was found in side the prison living in an air duct. Bill Marks from CFCN has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL MARKS, CFCN REPORTER (voice-over): The story of Raymond Tudor is the main topic of conversation here at the Carseland town dump. The manager here is Ron Tudor, elder brother of killer and prison air duct inmate, Raymond Tudor.

Ron last saw his brother 15 years ago. He hasn't had much contact with the black sheep of the family since. Then seven weeks ago, Ron became a sort of local folk hero around here. It looked as though his brother, serving time for two murders, had escaped and was on the lam.

RON TUDOR, INMATE'S BROTHER: If he would have got out, he would have probably been enjoying himself someplace in the Cayman Islands, where there's no extradition.

MARKS: Were you surprised when you heard he was living in the ceiling?

TUDOR: Yes, quite surprised.

MARKS: A lot of folks around here thought Raymond would surface in Carseland, asking family for help. Ron was never worried.

TUDOR: I never did anything wrong to him. I'm just his older brother, that's it.

MARKS: Raymond Tudor was reported missing from Drumheller Institution March 26. It was a mystery, as though he'd vanished into thin air. Police across the country, and the U.S., were on the lookout for Tudor.

But the inmate was close by. really close by, inside the walls and ceiling of the prison he had supposedly busted out of. Living on cookies and scraps smuggled to him by other inmates, the 48-year-old killer lost as much as 15 kilograms. But on Thursday night it all came to an end. The killed was discovered curled up in an air duct in the prison's workshop. He had to be forcibly removed. RCMP kept a close eye on Carseland the past seven weeks, thinking Tudor would eventually turn up here. A small town, not much happens here. But this case got the locals' attention.

Some people here in Carseland testified against Tudor in court. And when it was believed he had escaped, many folks here thought he was coming to settle accounts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wouldn't have had to come back to me for any reason, but I know there's quite a few people that are relieved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess a lot of people here were quite concerned.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, a lot of people were. I wasn't. I knew the guy, and we had got along. You know, he had nothing against me, so I had nothing to worry about.

MARKS: Things are slowly returning to normal now. Raymond's brother says in a couple more days, the excitement will all be over and he can get back to what he does best -- that's manage the town's landfill -- instead of talking about his infamous brother. Bill Marks, CFCN News, Carseland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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