Convicted killer, 85, arrested by Toronto police after Quebec prison escape

Convicted killer Ricardo Vilches, 85, escaped from a Quebec prison and was arrested in Toronto.

A convicted killer who escaped from a Quebec prison has been arrested in Toronto.

Ricardo Vilches, 85, was unaccounted for during the noon head count Monday at Archambault Institution, a minimum security institution in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., about 40 kilometres north of Montreal.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) said Vilches, who is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, was the subject of an arrest warrant and authorities were working with Quebec provincial police to locate him.

The CSC confirmed Monday evening evening that the inmate was arrested by Toronto police at around 5:45 p.m.

Ste-Anne-des-Plaines prison A Correctional Services Canada sign is shown pointing the way to the Archambault Institution at Ste-Anne-des-Plaines near Montreal, Tuesday, November 30, 2010. (FILE)

A Toronto police spokesperson declined to say where he was arrested, but said he was apprehended without incident and was not armed.

The correctional service said it is launching an investigation into the incident.