MAORI PRISONER RECAPTURED

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22336, 25 February 1938, Page 14

MAORI PRISONER RECAPTURED

FOUND EXHAUSTED IN RIVERBED NO FOOD OR SLEEP FOR 27 HOURS [THE PRESS Special Service.] AUCKLAND, February 23. Found in a distressed condition in a riverbed about five miles away, a Maori. Moses Tito, aged 20, who escaped from the Wairekia prison camp, near Te Awamutu, on Monday afternoon, was recaptured by a party of warders about 6 o’clock last evening. As they expected, he had headed toward the, Korakonui district, where tiiere is a small Maori settlement, but exposure and lack of food handicapped his progress. Twice during the afternoon the Maori was seen by a party of searc "' ers but each time managed to eluoe them by taking cover in dense scrub Just after 5 o’clock, however the superintendent of the camp, Mr D. Dunlop, was advised by telephone by a farmer in the Korakonui district. Mr James Kay, that he. had seen the prisoner wandering in a riverbed near his property. The superintendent immediately set out with several warders and took the Maori into custody. "The Maori was glad to be recaptured,” said Mr Dunlop. “He said he had been walking in circles all night, and had had no tcod since leaving the camp more than 27 hours previously. He was very tired, having had no sleep, and after being returned to the prison camp was bathed and given a good meal. He was then content to sleep.” Although the second prisoner who escaped from the camp early on Sunday evening had not been recaptured at a late hour last night, Mr Dunlop said that traces of his movements had been reported about 10 o’clock from the Parawera district, almost 10 miles from the prison camp. Reports indicated that it was apparent that the prisoner, Richard Jackson Ruff Moyle, aged 27, had had food since his escape, as he appeared to be suffering from no ill effects and was walking smartly. Mr Dunlop expected that the prisoner would be recaptured early this morning.