Kansas sex predator escaped for 12 days. He bought a ‘Jason’ mask before being caught

Kansas authorities said that they have recaptured a sexual predator 12 days after he absconded from a mental health facility in Miami County.

The Miami County Sheriff’s Office said that Jason Michael Hale had fled on Oct. 21 and was taken back into custody early Friday.

Hale, 38, had been convicted of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old boy in Shawnee County in 2006, according to the Kansas sex offender registry and court records.

In 2015, he was found to be a sexually violent predator and committed to the Larned State Hospital for care and treatment, according to court records.

He was being housed at a transitional housing unit at the Osawatomie State Hospital and failed to return after being dropped off at his job in Edgerton in Johnson County, according to the sheriff’s office.

On Halloween, Hale was spotted at a bank in Paola, Kan.

The Paola Police Department posted on its Facebook page that Hale had also been seen in Gardner. He had been buying camping supplies, a bicycle and a mask of the character “Jason” from the Halloween movie.

Hale was arrested early Friday in Ottawa, Kan., in Franklin County.

Miami County officials asked anyone who had contact with Hale between Oct. 21 and Nov. 2 to contact their local law enforcement authorities.