Escaped U.S. prisoner turns himself in due to bitter cold: police

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Just how cold is it in the U.S.? Apparently cold enough for an escaped prisoner to turn himself in.

Authorities say the inmate escaped from a minimum security facility in Kentucky on Sunday. As temperatures dropped far below freezing Monday, they say he walked into a motel and asked the clerk to call police.

Lexington police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts says 42-year-old Robert Vick told the clerk he wanted to turn himself in and escape the arctic air.

Roberts says Vick was checked out by paramedics and returned to Blackburn Correctional Complex.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb says Vick would have been dressed in prison-issued pants, a shirt and a jacket when he escaped.

• 

  This undated photo provided by Kentucky Department of Corrections, Robert Vick is shown. Authorities say Vick, an inmate, escaped from a minimum security facility in Lexington on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. As temperatures dropped into the low single digits Monday, they say he walked into a motel and asked the clerk to call police. (AP / Kentucky Department of Corrections)