Search continues for escaped inmate

It has been a year since authorities have seen or had any knowledge of where Nicholas D. Rhodes was.

Rhodes, who escaped police custody a year ago while being transported to Putnam County in 2024, is now facing new charges in Putnam County. 

According to local officials, Rhodes has been charged with felony escape after running away from a jail transport vehicle last June after a bathroom stop. 

After failing to show up for a conference in court in 2023, Rhodes was arrested in Nevada in 2024 and was to have been brought back to Indiana via SGI Avalon Transport. SGI Avalon Transport made the trip to bring Rhodes back, but did not use ankle shackles during the transport. According to court documents, Rhodes said the shackles bothered him due to a previous surgery. 

While being transported back to Indiana, Rhodes asked to use the bathroom and SGI Avalon complied with the request, stopping at a gas station in Independence, Missouri. After allowing Rhodes to use the bathroom, he came out with his hands under his shirt, telling staff that the handcuffs were "embarrassing." Once outside, Rhodes managed to get away from SGI Avalon staff, dropped his cuffs and belly chain and ran away into an abandoned apartment complex. 

SGI Avalon staff called local authorities, who deployed three drones and several K9 units, but could not locate Rhodes. 

Rhodes was originally pulled over on Christmas Eve in 2020 for various traffic violations on I-70 in Putnam County. The responding officer noted he smelled an "overwhelming odor of fresh marijuana" coming from inside the vehicle. When asked where he was headed, Rhodes told police he and his fiancee were traveling from California to Indianapolis to visit family. 

According to documents, he told police he had smoked weed inside the vehicle and handed police two plastic bags containing marijuana, edibles and a Medical Cannabis card. The report notes a K9 alerted police to more drugs inside the vehicle and police located 417 pounds of cannabis products, cocaine, meth and over $108 thousand in cash. 

Rhodes was charged with a Level 5 felony count of dealing in marijuana amount at least 10 pounds, a Level 5 felony count of dealing in marijuana at least 10 pounds conspiracy to commit, a Class B Misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana, Level 6 felony charge of possession of methamphetamine, Level 6 felony charge of possession of cocaine, and two counts of a Class A Misdemeanor Possession of a controlled substance.