Escaped inmate eluded massive manhunt by hiding in cottage attic

An escaped inmate managed to elude a massive manhunt conducted by police for over three weeks on an island in Hiroshima Prefecture by hiding in the attic of a vacation home, investigative sources said Tuesday.Tatsuma Hirao, 27, fled last month from a minimum security prison in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, and was caught in Hiroshima on Monday, ending a search that involved a total of 15,500 personnel.Hirao said he hid in the vacant house on Mukaishima island, a part of the city of Onomichi, eluding detection by officers of both the Hiroshima and Ehime police who had targeted the building in t…READ FULL ARTICLE