Woman escapes from prison in Connecticut but police find her 45 minutes later

By The Associated Press

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — A woman serving time for a gun charge and setting fire to an Alabama church in 2021 managed to escape from a federal prison in Connecticut for about 45 minutes before being captured, prison authorities said Wednesday.

Xiaoqin Yan, 30, a Chinese national, has been at the low-security facility in Danbury since Nov. 20, where she’s serving 8 1/2 years for Possession of a Firearm by an Illegal Alien.

Employees at FCI Danbury were notified at around 7 p.m. Tuesday that a security device had been activated and an inmate had escaped. Local police were notified, found Yan at about 7:45 p.m. and returned her to prison officials, according to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Staff at the prison declined to comment on details of the escape, instead referring to the prison bureau’s statement.

The FBI was notified of the incident and an investigation is underway. An email was sent seeking comment from the attorney who had represented Yan in the Alabama case.

Court records show Yan, who had overstayed her non-immigrant visa and wasn’t legally allowed to have a gun, was also convicted at trial for arson.

According to a criminal complaint in the case, Yan was spotted on surveillance video walking into the First Baptist Church of Montgomery in September 2021 carrying two duffel bags and wearing a facemask while church services were happening. She was then seen lighting containers of gasoline in multiple places inside the church, which sustained significant fire damage.

Yan had multiple encounters with the church staff and exhibited unusual behavior prior to the episode, federal prosecutors said.