Pictured is Beau-Jacob Edward Zimmer, an escaped patient from the Minnesota Sex offender Program in St. Peter. (Credit: Saint Peter Police Department) (Supplied)
ST. PETER, Minn. (FOX 9) - A sex offender who escaped a facility in St. Peter early Friday morning is now back in custody.
Search underway for sex offender who escaped
What we know:
The St. Peter Police Department said they were notified around 1:30 a.m. that Beau-Jacob Edward Zimmer, 45, had escaped from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. Officials said he may have been armed with an orange-handled kitchen knife with a 3-inch blade.
In an update, police said Zimmer was taken back into custody at around 7 a.m., though they did not say where he was located.
"We would like to thank the public, particularly the citizen who spotted him and notified law enforcement this morning!" a statement from the police read.
What we don't know:
Police did not provide further details as to how Zimmer escaped or where he obtained a knife from.
Minnesota Sex Offender Program
Big picture view:
The Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) provides court-ordered treatment for people with sexual offenses. Following their prison term, individuals deemed in civil court to either be a "sexual dangerous person" or have a "sexual psychopathic personality" may be committed for an "unspecified period of time" for treatment, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services’s website.
MSOP has locations in Moose Lake and in St. Peter. People typically begin treatment at the Moose Lake facility then transfer to St. Peter to work toward being released and completing their treatment.
As of April 28, the MSOP houses 752 people in its facilities. Another 66 provisionally discharged people are living in Minnesota communities under supervision, and fewer than 10 people with provisional discharges are awaiting community placement, according to the DHS website.
The Source: This report uses information from a St. Peter Police Department alert.