Joseph Megna is a convicted child molester and sex offender. He was arrested in Florida and was being transported back to Washington State for a trial when he escaped from the van and fled to the cornfields of North Dakota.
There farmers began a massive man hunt which, after 22 hours, would finally track down the felon and hand him back over to the officials. They used air and ground patrol and thermal imaging technology in order to find him.
When asked his reason for escaping, Megna responded by saying that he was a vegetarian and was not being given enough food during the commute.
Megna forced an unlocked padlock on the back of the van while the other prisoners were being taken to the bathroom and then fled into the 90-degree heat.
Megna is quoted as saying “I was starving” before being taken the rest of the way to Washington.
Reference:
Associated Press: Dave Kolpack
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Convicted-sex-offender-captured-in-ND-cornfield-2203437.php
SeattlePI 911 Blog: Man blames escape on vegetarianism
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/2011/10/05/sex-offender-blames-escape-on-being-a-vegetarian/
Mizozo.com: Sex offender caught after escape
http://www.mizozo.com/weird/10/2011/06/joseph-megna-convicted-sex-offender-blames-escape-….html