Ely State Prison officials investigate inmate death

Nevada prison and sheriff officials are investigating after a 31-year-old inmate was found dead in his cell at Ely State Prison.

The state Corrections Department issued a statement Monday saying that Erik Houser was found dead about 2:20 p.m. Sunday during a routine prisoner check at the prison, more than 200 miles north of Las Vegas.

Corrections spokesman Kevin Ingram said that an autopsy was planned and that White Pine County sheriff's and prisons officials are investigating.

Ingram couldn't confirm that Houser, then 28, was recaptured in Reno in February 2008 after walking away from a low-security prison camp in Elko County.

At the time, escape charges were to be added against Houser. He had been serving time for convictions in Washoe County on weapon and stolen vehicle possession charges.