Handcuffed Man Escapes Penn. Police Car, Flees on Train

A handcuffed man police say escaped from their cruiser in Altoona Wednesday and hopped a train was found Thursday morning in Dauphin County.

And according to Altoona police, he was still wearing his handcuffs.

Police say they got a report of a suspicious person, later identified as Christopher S. Catich, inside the Dollar General Store on the 1000 block of North Fourth Street in Altoona. He was inside the store for several hours looking at the surveillance cameras, police say.

When police got there, they say he had several concealed, stolen items in his pants.

Police handcuffed him with his hands behind his back and put him in the back of the police cruiser.

But as officers were still investigating, Catich shattered the rear driver’s side window, crawled out of the police cruiser, and ran away, police say.

According to police, they later learned that he jumped on a Norfolk Southern railcar and rode it out of town.

He was found him this morning in Dauphin County, still handcuffed, authorities say. Just where in Dauphin County he was found was not immediately available, but he is in custody in Dauphin County and is expected to be returned to Blair County for arraignment.

Police say he is facing charges of escape, flight to avoid apprehension, retail theft, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief.

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