Deputy describes sex offender's escape near Tower City, officers combing cornfield

11:04 a.m. Update

TOWER CITY, N.D. - Several dozen officers have zeroed on a farm field about five miles northwest of here in the second large-scale search for a suspect in eight days.

Barnes County Chief Deputy Don Fiebiger said 40 to 50 officers have surrounded a 1,000-acre cornfield after a deputy spotted 29-year-old Joseph Megna, a convicted high-risk sex offender who fled a transport van Tuesday afternoon, near a propane tank at a farm about 8 this morning.

An airplane and helicopter are also being used to search for Megna, who is not wearing any restraints.

Kenny Lang, who owns the land and lives on the wooded farmstead on the south side of the cornfield, sat in a pickup truck with Aaron Larson, who farms the land, as they awaited word of Megna's capture.

Lang said he went to bed at 1:30 a.m. when the patrol airplane moved on.

"I had a little protection alongside me," he said.

Fiebiger said Megna was arrested in Sarasota, Fla., transported to New Jersey and was on its way to California when he escaped Tuesday. A private prisoner transport company, TransCor America of Nashville, Tenn., was transporting Megna and six other people wanted for crimes, and planned to take Megna to Washington after stopping in California.

Washington authorities wanted Megna on new charges of child molestation and another sexual offense, Fiebiger said.

Authorities using thermal imaging devices and night-vision goggles overnight were unable to find Megna, who ran from the van during a stop about two miles west of Tower City, near the Oriska rest area.

A North Dakota Highway Patrol airplane circled the area with forward-looking infrared (FLIR). The Red River Valley SWAT team's Bearcat vehicle also is equipped with FLIR, and four handheld units were being used, as well, patrol Lt. Bryan Niewind said. About half a dozen officers had night-vision goggles.

Fiebiger said he spoke to a representative from TransCor America and an inmate who was in the van with Megna at the time of the escape.

Here's how Megna escaped, according to Fiebiger's interviews:

TransCor was transporting seven inmates when its two corrections officers stopped at a rest area along Interstate 94 near Tower City.

The corrections officers took five of the inmates, including one in a wheelchair, to the restroom and left one of the van's doors open for ventilation. Megna and another inmate remained inside the van's cage, which was closed with an unlocked padlock hanging in the cage's latch.

Megna shook the door three times, forcing the padlock out of the latch, and fled, according to the other inmate.

North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Bryan Niewind said rural residents were reminded to keep an eye out and lock the doors to their outbuildings, homes and vehicles.

Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said one of the biggest fears was that Megna would come across a farm vehicle left in a field with the keys still in it. Farmers were asked to check all of their vehicles, he said.

The National Weather Service forecast for today calls for sunny and windy conditions with highs in the upper 80s, which could lead to Megna becoming dehydrated, Niewind said.

"That would actually play in our favor," he said. "If he's starting to feel the effects of dehydration, he's probably going to want to give himself up."

Authorities planned to re-evaluate the search area throughout the day, he said. Law enforcement will have a presence in the communities of Tower City, Oriska and Buffalo throughout the day to make residents feel safe, he said.

Tower City is about 45 miles west of Fargo.

Laney said he and Barnes County Sheriff Randy McClaflin "fully intend to seek reimbursement" from the transport company, TransCor America of Nashville, Tenn., for the cost of the search.

"I mean, this is basic corrections 101. Secure your inmates," Laney said. "And now it's obviously become a North Dakota problem."

Megna is a convicted sex offender from Washington state, Laney said.

About 50 law enforcement officers were scouring the area, including deputies from Cass, Barnes and Stutsman counties along with the North Dakota State Patrol and Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Jamestown, Valley City police and the Red River Valley SWAT team north of Interstate 94. Shortly after dark, officials said a CodeRed alert was sent to Valley City-area residents warning that Megna, who was dressed in plain clothes - a red shirt, blue jeans and black tennis shoes - had escaped.

According to the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender registry, Megna is a high-risk sex offender from Pasco, Wash. The Highway Patrol describes Megna as 5 feet 7 inches tall, white, weighing 160 to 170 pounds with blond hair and hazel eyes.

Niewind said Megna has no known connections to the area, but the rural area had officers concerned Megna would be looking for unlocked vehicles or homes.

Megna was convicted in April 2009 on two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

In 2009, Washington's Tri-City Herald newspaper reported Megna admitted to hosting a party and giving alcohol to numerous teens, inappropriately touching three of them and exposing himself outside an apartment.

The other prisoners in the van were transported to the Jamestown jail.

Megna's escape marks the second time in the past eight days that area authorities have searched a cornfield to apprehend a suspect.

On Sept. 28, the Red River Valley SWAT team spent 11 hours searching for Dylan Thomas Pederson, 21, in a field near Argusville after he allegedly threatened to kill himself and a woman. He has been charged with four felonies, accused of fleeing into a cornfield, prompting a long search that involved two helicopters and an airplane.

TransCor is the same company that was hauling murderer Kyle Bell in 1999 when he escaped from a transport bus in New Mexico while he was being taken to Oregon. Bell confessed to Jeanna North's murder two years after her 1993 slaying. He was brought back into custody 88 days later after two appearances on "America's Most Wanted," which led to a Dallas apartment manager recognizing him as a tenant.

Bell is now serving his lifetime prison sentence at a high-security federal prison in Arizona as part of a prisoner swap agreement with North Dakota.

Bell's escape led to adoption of the Federal Transportation of Dangerous Criminals Act of 2000, also known as Jeanna's Act, which set minimum standards for employees of private transport companies and established specific regulations the companies must follow.

TransCor states on its website, "We take pride in being one of the first detainee/prisoner transportation companies to be in full compliance" with Jeanna's Act. The company touts itself as "the most experienced" such transport company in the country, having transported more than 1 million detainees and prisoners over the past 21 years.

Original Post

TOWER CITY, N.D. - Authorities using thermal imaging devices and night-vision goggles overnight were unable to find a convicted sex offender who escaped custody from a private company's transport van west of here Tuesday afternoon.

The search continued this morning for Joseph Megna, who ran from the van during a stop about two miles west of Tower City, near the Oriska rest area.

"At this point in time, we have no idea where he might be," North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Bryan Niewind said about an hour before sunrise. "We're assuming that he is still in the area. We haven't had any reports of anybody seeing him yet.

"There has been a lot of traffic throughout this area through the evening, so if he would have popped up on a road someplace, I'm assuming somebody would have probably called that in, being that this has been put out through the media, put out through CodeReds to all the residents in this area," Niewind added. "So basically everybody that lives around here should know about it."

A Highway Patrol airplane continues to circle the area with forward-looking infrared (FLIR). The Red River Valley SWAT team's Bearcat vehicle also is equipped with FLIR, and four handheld units were being used, as well, Niewind said. About half a dozen officers had night-vision goggles.

Authorities received no reports of stolen vehicles or suspicious activity on farmsteads in the area, he said. Rural residents have been reminded to keep an eye out and lock the doors to their outbuildings, homes and vehicles, Niewind said.

The National Weather Service forecast for today calls for sunny and windy conditions with highs in the upper 80s, which could lead to Megna becoming dehydrated if he's still on foot, Niewind said.

"That would actually play in our favor," he said. "If he's starting to feel the effects of dehydration, he's probably going to want to give himself up."

Authorities will re-evaluate the search area throughout the day, he said. Law enforcement will have a presence in the communities of Tower City, Oriska and Buffalo throughout the day to make residents feel safe, he said.

Tower city is about 45 miles west of Fargo.

Megna was in the van with six other prisoners and two guards when the van stopped for a mandatory break. Officials said Megna was not locked inside and a guard saw Megna running north across Interstate 94 as they were returning from the rest stop building.

Megna is a convicted sex offender from Washington state, Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said. Megna was in transit from Washington to New Hampshire.

About 50 law enforcement officers were scouring the area, including deputies from Cass, Barnes and Stutsman counties along with the North Dakota State Patrol and Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Jamestown, Valley City police and the Red River Valley SWAT team north of Interstate 94. Shortly after dark, officials said a CodeRed alert was sent to Valley City-area residents warning that Megna, who was dressed in plain clothes - a red shirt and blue jeans - had escaped.

According to the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender registry, Megna, 29, is a high-risk sex offender from Pasco, Wash. The Franklin County (Wash.) Sheriff's Office describes Megna as 5 feet, 6 inches tall, white, weighing 160 pounds with blond hair and hazel eyes.

Niewind said Megna has no known connections to the area, but the rural area had officers concerned Megna would be looking for unlocked vehicles or homes.

Megna was convicted in April 2009 on two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

In 2009, Washington's Tri-City Herald newspaper reported Megna admitted to hosting a party and giving alcohol to numerous teens, inappropriately touching three of them and exposing himself outside an apartment.

Megna was in the custody of a national transport company, Extradition Transport of America.

The company, based in Riverside, Calif., has operated for 20 years and "specializes in secure inmate transportation" nationwide, according to its website.

"We pride ourselves with cost efficient, reliable, relationship focused prisoner transportation services," the website states.

Seven other prisoners in the van were transported to the Jamestown jail.

Megna's escape marks the second time in the past eight days that area authorities have searched a cornfield to apprehend a suspect.

On Sept. 28, the Red River Valley SWAT team spent 11 hours searching for Dylan Thomas Pederson, 21, in a field near Argusville after he allegedly threatened to kill himself and a woman. He has been charged with four felonies, accused of fleeing into a cornfield, prompting a long search that involved two helicopters and an airplane.

Longtime residents will recall Kyle Bell's escape in 1999 from a prison transport bus in New Mexico while he was being taken to Oregon. Bell confessed to Jeanna North's murder two years after her 1993 slaying. He was brought back into custody 88 days later after two appearances on "America's Most Wanted," which led to a Dallas apartment manager recognizing him as a tenant.

Bell is now serving his lifetime prison sentence at a high-security federal prison in Arizona as part of a prisoner swap agreement with North Dakota.