OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — A felon who vanished Thursday from a work camp in Okeechobee County and prompted extra law-enforcement patrols in seven counties, including Polk, Osceola, and Brevard, was taken into custody Friday.

• Timothy Howton-McLaughlin thought to have driven Ford F-150
• Escape happened 100 miles south of downtown Orlando
• Inmate went to prison twice for Indian River County crimes

The Florida Department of Corrections "has contacted all state and local law enforcement officials and are coordinating a large-scale search effort focusing on highways and roads in the multi-county region," for Timothy L. Howton-McLaughlin, an agency statement said. "If anyone sees the escaped inmate, do not approach and call 911 immediately."

Howton-McLaughlin, 28, was serving time for five counts of trafficking in stolen property and one burglary charge from Indian River County.

He was taken into custody Friday morning in Indian River County, according to the Indian River County Sheriff's Office. Deputies there said a witness reported seeing him to authorities. A K-9 unit caught up with him.

On Thursday, authorities put out a message to residents in Okeechobee, Indian River, St. Lucie, Highlands, Polk, Osceola, and Brevard counties that they may see more law-enforcement officers than normal, as well as additional helicopter patrols, as "every effort is made to recapture this inmate," the Florida Department of Corrections said online.

Howton-McLaughlin was sentenced to eight years in prison on April 2, 2018. He entered the state prison system this time on April 25, 2018.

Okeechobee Correctional Institution notified the Okeechobee Sheriff’s Office of the inmate’s escape at 5:14 p.m. Florida Department of Corrections security staffers at Okeechobee Correctional Institution Work Camp discovered that an inmate had escaped while working on his minimum-security outside work-squad assignment.

"An immediate lockdown and full count of the facility was conducted, and one inmate was discovered missing from his assigned location, along with an FDC vehicle," the Florida DOC said. Officials from the prison and work camp searched with officers and police dogs.

The Okeechobee Correctional Institution is at 3420 N.E. 168th Street, Okeechobee. That’s about 100 miles south of downtown Orlando.

Howton-McLaughlin previously served time in Florida’s prison system for crimes in Indian River County. He was sentenced to four years in prison on August 8, 2013 for 12 felonies in that county. He left the state prison system on August 7, 2016.

The Florida Department of Corrections said inmate escapes are extremely rare and would review what happened.

"The Department is committed to ensuring all inmates are supervised appropriately and security protocols at all facilities are followed to prevent escapes. This is still an active situation," a statement said. "A full investigation and review of Department procedures will occur immediately following the recapture of this inmate to ensure that proper protocols were followed and identify any deficiencies for correction to ensure that this does not happen again."