Drone helps inmate escape from maximum security prison

A drone helped a convict escape prison by delivering wire cutters. The convict, who is serving a life sentence, used the wire cutters to escape from a maximum security prison in South Carolina.

"We 100 percent know a cellphone was used or multiple cellphones were used while he was incarcerated, and we believe a drone was used to fly in the tools that allowed him to escape," Bryan Stirling, the director of the South Carolina Department of Correction, said at a new conference.

The escapee was on the run for two days before Texas Rangers apprehended him in Austin, Texas. At the time of his capture, the escapee was in possession of: a pistol, a shotgun, extra ammunition, four cellphones and $47,654 in cash.

Using drones to deliver contraband is becoming more common, but this is the first time a drone has assisted in an escape. Other state facilities have experienced drone related incidents, including when a drone crashed into a Michigan prison yard and when a drone carrying blades crashed in an Oklahoma prison. Drones are a real threat to prison security and safety, correctional facilities can combat this threat by implementing anti drone systems and drone detection technology.