Two days after it all began, the two inmates who walked out of the minimum security South Mackenzie Correctional Centre (SMCC) were back in custody.

Robert Laliberte, 20, of Hay River, and Tyler Green, 19, of Inuvik, walked out of an alarmed emergency exit at about 12:30 a.m. Jan. 19.

"Once the alarm went off, the centre's staff did a count, identified who was missing and notified the RCMP," said Glen Rutland, spokesperson for the territorial Department of Justice. Laliberte and Green were serving time for non-violent offences.

Green was recaptured later that same day south of High Level, Alberta after a two-hour police chase. Laliberte was pulled off a bus leaving Hay River for Fort Smith on Jan. 21.

On the afternoon of Jan. 19, RCMP from High Level tried to stop a truck stolen from outside The Rooster convenience store in Hay River.

The driver managed to avoid a spiked belt spread across Highway 35 about 45 kilometres south of Keg River, and was finally stopped in the Hawk Hills area, about 160 kilometres south of High Level.

"Basically, he was going up hill at a reduced rate of speed and he was cornered," explained Cpl. Gerald Gervais of the High Level RCMP. Both the truck and a police vehicle were damaged.

Gervais described the chase as a "hazardous pursuit" on sometimes icy roads. The stolen vehicle travelled at varying speeds -- above and below the speed limit.

Green pleaded guilty to flight from a peace officer and possession of stolen property over $5,000 in a High Level court on Jan. 23. He was sentenced to nine months in jail in Alberta. Once he completes that sentence, he will face a charge of escaping lawful custody in the NWT.

An 18-year-old man from Paddle Prairie, Alta. was arrested along with Green and also faces charges.

Hay River RCMP arrested Laliberte on a bus departing for Fort Smith. Acting on a tip, the police stopped the bus before it left Hay River.

He now faces charges of escaping lawful custody and break and enter, after allegedly entering a house during his two days on the loose.

Laliberte is back in SMCC and is to appear in court Feb. 17.