CAMERON, Mo. — A good Samaritan act Wednesday resulted in the arrest of an escaped felon by the Cameron Police Department.

Several callers telephoned police at about 5 p.m. Wednesday and reported seeing a man passed out near the southbound Interstate 35 ramp from U.S. Highway 36, said Corey Sloan, Cameron’s police chief. Officers found a male who had no identification and wasn’t coherently answering questions, Mr. Sloan said.

Police determined that the man hadn’t eaten for at least 24 hours.

The officers took him into protective custody after an ambulance crew checked his well-being and took him to the station for a meal, Mr. Sloan said. While he was eating, police used a live scan digital fingerprinting system to identify him as Jack H. Jacqmain, 50, a convicted bank robber and prison escapee from Michigan. He was serving a 20-year sentence in Michigan before his escape, Mr. Sloan said.

In 2006, the department received a $32,000 grant to purchase the digital fingerprinting system. Since receiving the equipment and training, it has become the department’s standard method for fingerprint identification because the system is constantly on-line and can identify people in 60 minutes or less.

Frequently, identification is obtained in less than 15 minutes, Mr. Sloan said.

Mr. Jacqmain was transferred to the custody of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and transported Wednesday to the regional jail in Pattonsburg, Mo.

Marshall White can be reached

at marshall@npgco.com