Sean Anthony Bright was located about 5 miles south of Arkadelphia late Tuesday when police saw him exit a field on River Road, Clark County Sheriff Jason Watson said following the 56-hour manhunt for Bright.
Bright is back in custody. The sheriff released a statement Wednesday morning:
“On Sunday, April 5th at or around 2:32 pm inmate Bright fled from the Clark County Detention Facility. Bright had been working an assigned detail in the detention centers kitchen. All area law enforcement were notified and a search of the area was conducted. Investigators immediately were able to obtain recorded phone conversations from the detention center which described an area that Bright was possibly enroute to. Once in the area Officers located evidence associated with Bright.
“Tracking dogs from the Arkansas Department of Correction and from the Arkansas Game and Fish were utilized and began to track Bright in the area. Throughout the next 56 hours K-9 units, a State Police Emergency Response team and officers from multiple agencies along with the use of aircraft equipped with fleer systems and drones were utilized.
“Around 10:15pm on Tuesday, April 7th Officers patrolling the area located Bright exiting a field area on River Road in the Copeland Ridge/Open Banks area just south of the Arkadelphia City limits. Bright was taken into custody and transported back to the Clark County Detention Facility.
“This is an ongoing investigation and at the time of this press release no other information is available. Once the investigation is complete any and all charges will be presented to Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner for filing considerations. I would like to extend thanks to the following agencies for their assistance. It should be noted that officers worked around the clock nonstop from the time notified of the escape until Bright was taken into custody.”
The sheriff thanked the following agencies for their assistance:
Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Arkadelphia Police Department, Group 6 Narcotics Unit, Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner’s Office, Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Game and Fish, Arkadelphia Fire Department, Arkansas Department of Corrections, Malvern Police Department, Sheridan Police Department, Clark County Office of Emergency, United States Marshals office and Drug Enforcement Administration.
The following were reports published late Tuesday:
Escaped prisoner captured late Tuesday
Escaped Clark County prisoner Sean Anthony Bright is back in custody.
Sheriff Jason Watson notified The Arkadelphian at about 10:45 p.m. that Bright had been captured in the area where law enforcement had been focusing their efforts.
The sheriff pledged to give more information Wednesday morning.
The following was a reported Tuesday evening:
Federal agencies, military aid in continued search of escaped Clark County prisoner
A manhunt continues Tuesday, two days after a Clark County Jail trusty walked away from his kitchen duties on Easter Sunday.
Shawn Anthony Bright is wanted for his April 5 escape from the facility, and police are still focusing their search on an area south of Arkadelphia.
Bright, 31, is a white male standing at 5-foot-4 and weighing 170 pounds. He was last seen in either an orange or white shirt and orange pants or brown shorts.
By Tuesday, multiple agencies — including the National Guard, U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration — had been enlisted to aid in the search for Bright, who had been incarcerated since his January 2026 arrest for leading Clark County deputies in a vehicle pursuit that ended in a cattle pasture. He was awaiting trial on a slew of felony charges, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and fleeing.
Asked to address speculation and/or rumors about Bright’s escape, Sheriff Jason Watson was tight-lipped, saying that, “due to the ongoing investigation, I’m not going to speculate.”
What the sheriff did tell us was that the search remains focused on an area south of Arkadelphia and concentrated around Copeland Ridge Road and Open Banks Road. Asked why police are concentrating their focus there, Watson replied, “Evidence related to the escape has led us to concentrate on that area for now.”
Military helicopters have been used in the search, the sheriff confirmed.
“We have not had any sightings” of Bright, Watson said in a text message Tuesday evening. Police pursued one tip that someone possibly had a run-in with Bright at the Family Dollar on Pine Street, but that lead “didn’t pan out,” Watson said.
“We are in contact with family members and any known associates,” Watson added.
The sheriff listed all the agencies that have so far helped in locating Bright: Arkadelphia Police Department, Group 6 Narcotics, Malvern Police Department, Sheridan Police Department, Office of Emergency Management, Arkansas State Police, National Guard, Arkansas Probation and Parole Fugitive Task Force, DEA, U.S. Marshal Service, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, and Arkadelphia Fire Department.