Handcuffed Man Steals Police Car

"I probably had a really dumb look on my face for maybe half a second," Kouts police Sgt. Dave Johnston was quoted as saying earlier Thursday as he looked up and saw the taillights of his cruiser leaving the parking lot.

William Francis Blankenship, 22, had been arrested Tuesday on drug charges at a gas station in nearby Kouts. Police said that as the arresting officer searched Blankenship's vehicle, the suspect somehow escaped from the police car's backseat, climbed into the front and drove off. He then used the police radio to ask where to find the car's cigarette lighter and a key to unlock his handcuffs.

Blankenship was taken into custody late Thursday night at his family's home in Knox, a small town about 50 miles southeast of Chicago after two days on the run. Cooperation from his family helped make the peaceful surrender possible.

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