Escaped WA inmate arrested in Seattle

Escaped inmate arrested on King County Metro bus

An inmate who escaped from a government building in Thurston County last week was recently arrested on a King County Metro bus and faces first-degree escape charges.

SEATTLE - An escaped inmate from Tumwater was arrested Tuesday morning, and now faces new escape and domestic violence charges.

Department of Corrections officers in the Northwest Community Response Unit located 33-year-old Christopher Brinkley on a King County Metro bus in Seattle. He was taken into custody without incident.

Brinkley previously escaped from the Correctional Industries Headquarters in Tumwater on Aug. 30, where he was serving a sentence for witness tampering and violation of a protection order.

The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) says Brinkley was incarcerated at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Littlerock, and was at the Correctional Industries Headquarters in Tumwater as part of his approved work program.

He was originally scheduled for release on June 16, 2026.

According to the DOC, Brinkley now faces additional charges of first-degree escape and violation of a domestic violence protection order.