Man who escaped NC prison 42 years ago turns himself in

FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY — Sheriff's deputies in Kentucky said a man who escaped from a North Carolina prison in 1972 turned himself in Monday.

Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton confirmed Monday night the man who identified himself as Clarence David Moore is the same person identified by North Carolina Department of Public Safety records as escapee David Edward Moore.

Moore called the sheriff's office around 4 p.m. He told deputies he "needs to make this right and get through this."

According to North Carolina Department of Public Safety prison records, Moore had been convicted of larceny in July 1967 and was 23 at the time of the reported escape from the former Polk Youth Institute in Butner, North Carolina on June 10, 1972.

The records show he was originally scheduled to be released from the facility June 1, 1978.

Melton said Moore would be arraigned in court Tuesday morning. It's unclear whether the existing escape charge would supersede the local charge.

"If he agrees to be extradited willingly, our extradition office will make arrangements to have him returned to NC to serve the remainder of his sentence," North Carolina Department of Public Safety Spokesperson Keith Acree said in an email, "If he fights extradition, then a more complicated legal process begins to get him returned to NC."

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