Escaped Idaho Inmate and His Suspected Accomplice Captured After Intense State-Wide Manhunt

The intense search for inmate Syklar Meade and his alleged escape accomplish Nicholas Umphenour ended on Thursday, as the two were arrested by authorities in Twin Falls, Idaho — 130 miles away from the scene of the brazen shootout that left 3 officers injured.

Idaho State Police announced the news in a release, stating that both males were taken into custody just after 2 p.m. local time "with no further incident or injury" after a "vehicle pursuit involving multiple law enforcement agencies."

A third person was arrested along with them: a woman named Tonya Huber, who prosecutors allege may have helped them during their time on the run, the Today show reported. She was driving one of the cars when Meade, 31, and Umphenour, 28, were arrested.

Idaho State Police Lt. Col. Sheldon Kelley said in a press conference Meade and Umphenour may have been linked to two murders of adult males while they were on the lamb: one in Nez Perce County and one in Clearwater County. Both occurred during the time the men were out, and shackles believed to be worn by Meade when he escaped were found at the scene of one of the murders.

Meade and Umphenour are both members of the Aryan Knights, a white supremacist group. The two overlapped at at Idaho Maximum Security institution from December 2020 through January 2024, Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) Director Josh Tewalt told KTVB.

It was during that time when authorities believe the two coordinated an escape plan.

It began Tuesday when Meade — who was still behind bars, serving nearly 8 years of a 20-year sentence for having shot at a deputy in 2016 during a high speed chase — was transported to the Saint Alhponsus Regional Medical Center for self-inflicted injuries.

According to the Boise Police Department, hours later (around 2:15 a.m. local time Wednesday) officers from the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) began to transport Meade back behind bars. But they were quickly ambushed by a man later identified by Umphenour, who allegedly opened fire at them in the ambulance bay.

Two corrections officers were shot during the gunfight. A third correction officer, in the chaos of the incident, was mistakenly shot at the emergency room entrance police say by a guard responding to the scene who believed the officer was the shooter.

All three officers survived, but Meade and Umphenour fled in a gray 2020 Honda Civic with Idaho license plates. The car was located in northern Idaho Thursday, police said Thursday.

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"What we know, with near certainty, this was not an accident," Josh Tewalt, director of the Corrections Department, explained. “This was a planned event. And we’re channeling every resource we have into trying to understand exactly how they went about planning it."

Meade and Umphenour will be arraigned in Twin Falls County Court on Friday at 1:30 p.m., according to Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs, NBC News reported. It's unclear if either have obtained council.

As for the homicide, police said the names of the victims and causes of death will be released at a later date. The homicide investigation is still ongoing.