Third captured fugitive heads back to Michigan

Wayne County

Third captured fugitive heads back to Michigan

Christine Ferretti / The Detroit News

Three decades after allegedly hopping a 6-foot-tall, chain-link fence to freedom, Barbara Corley will soon return -- in handcuffs -- to Michigan, becoming the third longtime female fugitive escapee to be arrested this year.

The 59-year-old fugitive, formerly known as Barbara Glenn, is expected to arrive back in the state within a few weeks after she was arrested Friday by federal marshals at her $500,000 home in a gated community in Piedmont, S.C.

Corley waived extradition during an arraignment in an Anderson County court Saturday. She was denied bond and is being held at the Anderson County Detention Center awaiting pickup by the Michigan Department of Corrections, said Capt. Garry Bryant of the Anderson County Sheriff's office on Monday.

Corley is one of at least five escapees arrested this year -- three were women -- an oddity that quadrupled the state's usual tally.

Three weeks ago, Rebecca Hatcher, 57, who served 10 months of a 16-year assault charge before escaping in 1975, was picked up just outside of Memphis, Tenn. In April, Susan LeFevre was arrested in Del Mar, Calif. She'd served one year of a 10-20 year sentence for a heroin charge. Her arraignment in the escape is Thursday.

"It's unusual we're capturing so close together these women who have been gone for three decades," said Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections. "There has been no coordinated effort against women escapees. It's a bit strange but we never give up on them. Our obligation is to carry out the sentence handed down by the court."

Deputies of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department -- contracted by the Michigan Department of Corrections to track down Wayne County escapees and parole absconders -- located Corley, who had changed her Social Security number and was living in South Carolina under the married name Corley. Police said she's been married to Devon Corley Jr. for many years and has adult children -- all allegedly unaware of her past.

Corley, who escaped in 1973 at the age of 24, was convicted in 1972 and sentenced to 15 years for attempted carrying concealed weapon, assault with intent to rob while armed and check fraud.