Sheriff calls for action after 17-year-old murder suspect escapes custody in North Carolina

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — A teenage murder suspect’s escape from jail in Wake County is raising concerns about North Carolina’s detention centers, and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden is speaking up.

On Monday, 17-year-old Zane Cesnik escaped custody in Butner and made it 45 minutes away to Wake County, where his family lives. Our news partners at WTVD found out this was Cesnik’s second escape.

McFadden is on the board of the American Correctional Association; he raised the topic of security and talked about potential solutions following the escape.

“I think we need to have a conversation on how we’re transporting these individuals and how we can better secure them,” McFadden said. “If you are inside a facility, it should be some mechanism that a person cannot just walk out of a door.”

Officials wouldn’t say how Cesnik was able to escape, but he’s now back in police custody.

Cesnik is accused of killing a 71-year-old man from Wake County last year.

(WATCH: Escaped inmate captured at Kannapolis hotel)