Tulsa Woman On The Run For A Decade Back In Custody

A woman who was on the run from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections has been taken into custody in Amarillo. A new law is credited for giving law enforcement the authority to execute Tina Stone's arrest warrant, according to a DOC release.

Stone walked away from a Tulsa halfway house in 1997. The 54-year-old woman moved to Amarillo, and although she was arrested in Texas, the temporary warrant for her arrest in Oklahoma had expired, the release states.

Governor Mary Fallin signed the law that provides for permanent warrants bring individuals who have escaped from a state facility back into custody. Prior to the law, if a permanent warrant wasn't issued within 48 hours of an inmate's escape, the temporary warrant would expire. 

Corrections Director Joe M. Allbaugh said the new law allows better communication with outside law enforcement and will go a long way in bringing inmates back to custody to serve their sentence handed down by the courts. 

Tina Stone was originally serving a 7-year sentence for forgery and possession of stolen property.