Emma Pritchard

A man who escaped from a Northern NSW correctional facility almost 30 years ago has been arrested and charged in Sydney.

In 1992, a 35-year-old man escaped from the old Grafton Gaol in Hoof Street between 7pm on July 31 and 7am on August 1, and subsequently disappeared for the next 29 years.

All efforts to locate him were unsuccessful.

On September 12, a 64-year-old man attended Dee Why Police Station in Sydney and surrendered himself to police.

Detectives attached to Robbery and Serious Crime Squad’s Corrective Services Investigation Unit (CSIU) have since charged the man with escape prisoner from lawful custody.

Police will allege the man used tools including a hacksaw blade and bolt cutters to free himself from prison custody in 1992.

The man was refused bail and appeared at Central Local Court on September 14, where he was formally refused bail to reappear at the same court on September 28.