A Sierra Conservation Center inmate missing since walking away from from the Jamestown-area prison last week has been captured.

Corrections Department investigators apprehended Tehama County resident George Lopez at about 10 p.m. in Chinese Camp, said prison spokesman Lt. Jimmy Hurtado.

He had been hiding in a vacant firehouse, previously used for the town's volunteer fire department, Hurtado said.

Hurtado could not say how Lopez's location was pinpointed.

"At 3 p.m., the Special Services Unit in Sacramento gathered some information that the guy was still in Tuolumne County, in the Chinese Camp area," Hurtado said. "We sent out officers. He was spotted at 8 p.m. by the Correction Crisis Response Team."

Lopez was returned to the prison where he is being interviewed by the CDC's Investigative Services Unit, Hurtado said.

Lopez escaped sometime before 2 p.m. July 16. He had been working in the carpentry shop, located outside the prison, Hurtado said.

Lopez has been in and out of the prison system, starting with a conviction for disregard for safety. Hurtado was unsure what exactly he did to earn the conviction, but disregard for safety can be offenses like domestic violence, child cruelty, drunk driving with children in the car or elder abuse, he said.

Hurtado was also unsure what Lopez's latest conviction was, but he was considered a low-risk inmate.

Lopez could face additional time in prison because of the escape. That is determined about the Tuolumne County District Attorney's Office.