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KNOX, Ind. - A man accused of stealing a po­lice cruis­er while handcuffed in northwest Indiana, then us­ing the po­lice ra­dio to ask how to unlock the cuffs, has turned him­self in af­ter two days on the run, au­thor­ities said yes­ter­day.

William F. Blanken­ship, 22, was tak­en into custody late Thursday night at his fam­ily’s home in Knox, about 50 miles south­east of Chicago.

Blanken­ship had been arrested Tuesday on drug charges at a gas station in nearby Kouts. Po­lice said that as the arrest­ing offi­cer searched Blanken­ship’s vehicle, the suspect somehow escaped from the po­lice car’s backseat, climbed into the front, and drove off. He then used the po­lice ra­dio to ask where to find the car’s cigarette lighter and a key to unlock his handcuffs.

Chief Deputy Pros­ecutor Matt Frost said Blanken­ship was be­ing held with­out bond on a pre­lim­inary charge of auto theft and that no date was set for an initial hearing. He said more charges could be filed.

The offi­cer whose squad car was stolen said he only re­alized the cruis­er was gone when he looked up and saw the tail­lights leav­ing the parking lot.

Kouts po­lice Sergeant Dave Johnston said he be­lieves Blanken­ship man­aged to con­tort him­self to get the handcuffs in front of him, then hopped into the front seat. The squad car was found in a drainage ditch Wednesday, and au­thor­ities recovered the po­lice weapons stored in the cruis­er.