Authorities locate missing inmate

Dane County authorities have located and taken into custody an inmate who was missing and had been declared AWOL.

Jason J. Helgestad, 21, of McFarland, was declared AWOL on Oct. 13 after a deputy was unable to make contact with him at the facility where Helgestad was residing.

The Dane County Sheriff's Office also noted Helgestad had removed a GPS monitoring device after fleeing the facility.

Helgestad is serving a 180-day sentence with "Pathfinders," one of the county's alternative sentencing programs, for retail theft and bail jumping.

On Tuesday, Dane County Sheriff's Office detectives, along with agents from the United States Marshall Service, received information indicating Helgestad may be located on the east side of Madison.

After conducting extensive follow up, Helgestad was located in the parking lot of an east side Madison business.

Helgestad was taken into custody without incident and returned to the Dane County Jail, where he is facing an additional charge of escape, sheriff's officials said.