Two Escaped Inmates Found in Hartford

Two female inmates walked away from the institute on Saturday night.

By Stephanie O'Connell and Audrey Washington

| Monday, Jan 7, 2013 | Updated 7:43 AM EDT

Melissa Riley, left and Jessica Rivera walked away from York Correctional Institute on Saturday night. They were found on Sunday.

The search is now over for two female inmates who escaped from a prison in Niantic.

State Police said Jessica Rivera, 34 of Waterbury and Melissa Riley, 30, of Willimantic, were found somewhere on New Britain Avenue in Hartford around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Correctional staff at the York Correctional Institute in Niantic noticed Rivera and Riley missing after a group of inmates returned from the gymnasium around 8:15 p.m. on Saturday.

The facility was immediately placed in lockdown and the escape was considered a walk-away since the offenders were housed in a minimum security area of the facility.

Residents in the area were alerted of the escape by the state's reverse 911 system.

The Corrections Department, along with local and state police, analyzed surveillance video from the prison and gathered information to eventually track down Riley and Rivera in Hartford.

The two inmates were being transported to State Police in Montville after they were found. They are both being held on $500,000 bond and will appear before a judge on Monday after being charged with escape from custody.

Rivera is serving a four-year sentence stemming from a charge of conspiracy on July 12, 2011. Police said she she has tried to escape before.

Riley entered the system on July 18, 2011 and is serving a three-year, three-month sentence for possession of narcotics.

Authorities said Riley and Rivera will most likely be brought back to the York Correctional Institute in iantic, since it's the only women's prison in Connecticut.