Extraordinary moment escaped inmate is found and captured with assistance from police

Incredible footage captured the moment a police helicopter used infrared cameras to locate a Michigan inmate who escaped jail and was hiding in the woods. 

Casie Jo Helsel, a 44-year-old man with an extensive criminal record, escaped the Crawford County Jail around 1.30pm on Monday, according to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. 

Authorities quickly realized he had fled and requested assistance from Michigan State Police to locate and capture the escapee. 

State police dispatched a helicopter called ‘Trooper 3,’ which scanned a swampy wooded area behind a country club where Helsel was believed to be hiding. 

He was soon located and captured by 3.58pm, less than two-and-a-half hours after escaping jail. 

Michigan State Police released the infrared helicopter footage, which showed its officers working with the sheriff’s office to locate and re-arrest Helsel. 

The black-and-white video shows the helicopter circling over trees before it zooms in on a bright white heat signature lying or crouching amid brush and debris. 

A member of the aerial team could be heard saying that Helsel has run away from police before, and ‘his MO is to hunker down, whether it be in the water, under a dock or at a stream on the edge and just wait ’till night.’ 

Remarkable police helicopter footage captured the moment a jail escapee was captured. The suspect’s heat signature is pictured through the trees in the infrared camera footage

The video shows officers with a K-9 approaching the escapee’s hiding spot as the aerial team guides them

Officers can be seen near the suspect, whose heat signature is slightly visible through the branches of the tree

A group of officers with a K-9 can later be seen approaching Helsel’s hiding spot as the aerial team directs them.

‘You guys are almost standing on top of it. What we’re seeing, heat-wise,’ the aerial team could then be heard saying before an officer said: ‘We got him. We got him.’ Police said Helsel was found hiding under logs and debris. 

Several departments within Michigan State Police, as well as County Marine Patrol and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, participated in the search.

‘Great work by all who worked together to safely take the suspect into custody,’ state police said. 

Crawford County Sheriff Ryan Swope said at a press conference that Helsel escaped the jail through a door that was propped open, WPBN reported. 

Swope said that the door is used by staff to take items in and out of the jail, and that police do not believe the person who left it open did so with the intention of helping Helsel. 

The sheriff added that his office will be conducting a detailed review of policies and procedures to prevent similar scenarios in the future.  

Helsel was being held in jail on assault and battery charges at the time of his alleged escape, according to court records. 

Casie Jo Helsel, 44, was captured after police searched for about two and a half hours. Helsel has a criminal history dating back more than 25 years

Officers could be seen surrounding Helsel in the footage before they found him hiding under logs and debris

The video briefly flicked to regular color, showing how it would have been nearly impossible to spot Helsel without the infrared mode

He had a pre-trial hearing on Sunday, and his next court appearance was scheduled for November 3, the records show. 

Michigan Department of Corrections records indicate that Helsel has an extensive criminal history dating back more than 25 years, and he previously served three prison sentences and two parole sentences. 

From 2001 to 2004, Helsel was on parole for malicious destruction of property. From 2005 to 2006, he was on parole for possession of a controlled substance and assaulting or resisting an officer.

In 2016, Helsel was sentenced to two and a half years to five years in prison for larceny and possession of a controlled substance charges. 

In 2019, he was sentenced to three years and 11 months to seven and a half years in prison for fleeing an officer and obstruction of justice charges. 

In 2024, he was sentenced to two years to seven and a half years in prison for charges of assaulting or resisting an officer and fleeing an officer. 

Helsel was released on probation in February. In September while still on probation, he allegedly committed the assault and battery he was in jail for at the time of his escape, court records show. 

The records do not indicate whether Helsel has been hit with additional charges for the alleged escape on Monday.