Police: 2 Rice County inmates escaped jail, stole 2 vehicles

Police say two Rice County inmates are back in custody after escaping from jail and then stealing and crashing two vehicles.

According to the Rice County Sheriff's Office, the 18-year-old inmates escaped the Rice County Jail Annex early Wednesday morning by climbing through a window and up a perimeter fence outside the building.

The sheriff's office says Austyn Gates of Faribault and Austen Chytracek of Northfield then stole a vehicle and led authorities on a short chase near Owatonna, until they crashed the vehicle and fled on foot. The office says the inmates stole another vehicle and crashed it near Albert Lea.

Authorities say the inmates were arrested near a home about three hours after they escaped from the jail.

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