French prison guards thwart escape attempt from Paris’ second-largest jail

French prison guards thwarted an escape attempt at the Paris region’s second-largest jail on Sunday, The Associated Press reported.

The escapee, who was caught Sunday morning, was a suspected Islamic State sympathizer, according to French media. Authorities said she had dug a hole in the wall of her cell and tried to rappel herself out using knotted bed sheets. 

 

Prison guards at the Fresnes prison checked all women’s cells to ensure that other prisoners were accounted for, the ministry said without providing any other details, according to AP.

France Info, a local broadcaster, reported the unidentified detainee was arrested and jailed after she traveled to Syria to join ISIS.

Guards were alerted by motion detectors after the would-be escapee left her cell after climbing down a hole using the bedsheets, the AP reported. 

The Justice Ministry said an investigation was opened in the case, the AP noted. 

Fresnes is the second-largest prison in France located south of Paris and is one of three main prisons in the area.