PICKENS — The search for a Pickens County prison escapee came to a successful conclusion Thursday morning as Casey William Gillespie was recaptured by authorities.

Creed Hashe, chief deputy of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, said Gillespie was discovered at approximately 7 a.m. when deputies initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle that had been under surveillance. Hashe said Gillespie was found inside the vehicle operated by a female driver on Main Street in Six Mile.

Gillespie was then taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Pickens County Detention Center on a $15,000 cash bond for an escape charge.

The apprehension of Gillespie brings to a close a search that lasted nearly three days. The sheriff’s office reported last Monday that Gillespie had walked off the job site that afternoon while cutting grass at a recycling center near Love and Care Road in Six Mile. Gillespie was serving a 90-day sentence for a DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under a suspended license.

Hashe said last week that Gillespie had served nearly a month of his sentence and was scheduled for release July 26.

Following Gillespie’s disappearance, the Pickens County Stockade immediately initiated an investigation. Stockade officials then notified the sheriff’s office and requested assistance in locating the escapee. Gillespie was entered into the National Crime Information Center as a wanted person, and authorities sought assistance from the public to help find him.

No word was given as to how much additional prison time Gillespie will face as a result of his escape effort, but state code says that unlawful escape or attempted escape from “a prison or local detention facility or while in the custody of an officer or another employee” is a felony and, upon conviction, punishable by imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than 15 years.