Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho inmate who went missing for three hours Friday after authorities say he walked away from an inmate fire crew battling a California wildfire is back in custody.
The Idaho Department of Correction in a news release says 37-year-old Angelo Manuel Diaz disappeared just before noon near the town of Sonoma.
Officials say a Napa County sheriff’s deputy found Diaz three hours later.
Officials say Diaz told authorities he got lost while on a bathroom break.
Idaho officials say Diaz is part of a 19-member inmate crew accompanied by two correctional officers who have been based at a fire camp in Santa Rosa, California, since Oct. 14.
Earlier this year Diaz was sentenced to about three and a half years in prison for possession of a controlled substance.