Townsville prison escapees: Update in manhunt for ‘dangerous inmates’ on the run

Two dangerous prisoners who escaped from prison and were on the run for three days have been captured by police.

Vaughn Michael James Hunter, 31, and Fabien Brian Galigan, 20, fled the Townsville Correctional Center on Sunday evening.

The pair ‘walked out’ of the facility’s low-security holding farm at around 9pm, sparking an urgent manhunt.

Vaughn Michael James Hunter, 31, and Fabien Brian Galigan, 20, fled the Townsville Correctional Center on Sunday

Hunter is serving 10 months for serious assault and Galigan is serving two years and six months for wounding.

Tactical crime officers, speed patrols and investigators from the Queensland Corrective Services Investigation Unit searched for the pair before they were spotted by a member of the public on Wednesday morning.

The men were seen near the intersection of Ross River Rd and Bowen Rd in Mundingburra at around 1.15am.

The witness contacted police, who took the two prisoners into custody later that morning.

Both men appeared in the Townsville Magistrates Court.

Hunter and Galigan escaped from the Townsville Correctional Center on Sunday evening (pictured).

A member of the public spotted the two prisoners at the intersection of Ross River Rd (pictured) and Bowen Rd in Mundingburra on Wednesday morning.

Townsville District Officer Chief Inspector Chris Hodgman said it remains unclear how the prisoners managed to leave the prison.

The pair were last captured on CCTV walking along the Bruce Highway after escaping from prison.

Police had warned the public not to approach the men if they saw them.

Townsville Correctional Center is described on its website as home to high and low security prisoners.

More to come