A daring escape attempt by Anthony Romine, a 22-year-old inmate, was thwarted on Saturday after he was tracked down and apprehended by a determined K-9 unit.
Romine, who was being held on charges of petty theft, violation of pre-trial release, and two counts of counterfeiting, had managed to escape from AdventHealth Palm Coast in Florida while in the custody of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
However, officials now believe that Romine had fabricated his injury in order to gain an opportunity to escape from the medical facility.
After a seven-hour search, Romine was finally discovered hiding in the woods near a gas station by a team of law enforcement officers, who had deployed drones, helicopters, and bloodhounds to track him down.
It was the bloodhound, Neo, that ultimately led to Romine’s capture, and the dog’s keen sense of smell was not the only thing that made an impact – Neo also bit Romine during the apprehension.
According to Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, Romine’s attempt to flee only resulted in additional charges being added to his list of crimes, and a painful encounter with Neo.
The Sheriff’s Office later shared a video of the capture on its official social media page, which showed Neo taking down Romine and the suspect crying and screaming in response.
Throughout the video, Romine can be heard resisting arrest and attempting to fight off Neo, prompting the officer guiding the dog to shout “Stop fighting my dog!”
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office used the incident as a warning to would-be fugitives, stating “You can run, but you can’t hide!” and praising Neo for his role in taking “a bite out of crime.”
