Inmate recaptured weeks after being mistakenly released from Gaston County Jail

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — An inmate who was mistakenly released from the Gaston County Jail last month has been recaptured in South Carolina, police said.

Officers had been searching for 35-year-old Kyle Auten since he and another inmate had been released by mistake on Feb. 19.

The other inmate was found the next day and taken back into custody but Auten had managed to elude law enforcement until Tuesday.

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According to the Gaston County Police Department, an operation was conducted to find and arrest Auten in Cherokee County, South Carolina early Tuesday.

He was taken into custody without incident, police said.

Auten was initially charged with two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, possession with intent to manufacture sell and deliver heroin, two counts of trafficking methamphetamine, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and a felony probation violation, along with several other misdemeanor drug offenses.

Officers said they found Auten with 253 grams of crystal methamphetamine and a stolen car. He also had a pistol and AR-15 rifle with him, according to police.

Auten was being held at the Gaston County Jail with a bail set at $250,000 and a probation hold before officials said he was accidentally released.

Auten will be held at the Cherokee County Detention Facility awaiting extradition back to North Carolina.

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