Third prison escapee caught after two days on the run

Samantha Lock and Robyn Wuth | May 17, 2023

A third escapee has been caught, ending a days-long manhunt after he and two other inmates broke out of a Queensland prison.

Antonio David Mene escaped from the Palen Creek Correctional Centre, about 100km southwest of Brisbane, on Sunday.

The 28-year-old was found by police about 3pm on Tuesday in the rural town of Ravenshoe, about 120km southwest of Cairns and almost 2000km from the prison where he was incarcerated.

Mene will appear in the Cairns Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with one count of escape lawful custody.

He was serving three years for vehicular offences.

Two other inmates, aged 32 and 20, were apprehended at Northgate in northern Brisbane about 10am on Monday.