A prisoner who escaped from Goulburn correctional facility has been captured by police.
Prison officials came under pressure after Beau Wiles, 25, escaped from a work yard beyond the main security fence at Goulburn Correctional Centre at about 10am on Wednesday.
Police confirmed that Wiles was picked up in Wollongong on Thursday afternoon.
'It was just a standard highway stop and the police recognised him in the back seat,' said Acting Inspector Matt Glasgow, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Earlier on Thursday, Corrective Services Minister David Elliot made a plea for Wiles to hand himself in.
"He had everything to live for, a loving family who clearly have encouraged him to return himself to lawful custody," he said.
"I don't know what I'm more disgusted in. The way that he has been able to escape, or just the fact that he is so stupid that he has thrown his life away."
Elliot said that Wiles, who was serving an 18 month sentence for shoplifting and driving offences, would face another two years in prison for escaping custody, and a further two years for having contraband -- a mobile phone -- in prison
Wiles had been active on Facebook in the days before his escape, and posted a topless image of himself and spoke with friends on the site.
On Wednesday friends and family took to his Facebook page to urge Wiles to turn himself into police.
“Brother please hand ur self in to police now its only jail the is bad beau they will kill u shoot u dead please bro go back to police now please I beg u beau,” said Angel McBride, who purports to be his sister.
“Hand ir self in now beau please call me asap.”
Another friend wrote: “Hand ir (sic) self in now beau please call me asap.”
Acting Superintendent Chad Gillies said police are searching several places Wiles was known to frequent.
"I can't talk about the specifics of what we are doing in relation to the investigation for operational reasons," he said.
Corrective Services NSW said on Wednesday the work facility Wiles escaped from is outside the secure perimeter of the Goulburn Correctional Complex.
Just six hours after Wiles' escape, 33-year-old Ali Hussein Chahine leapt from the dock at the inner-Sydney Downing centre court house and allegedly assaulted two corrective officers before he fled the building barefoot.
Police said Chahine - , who is facing drug supply charges and bail breach allegations - boarded a bus before disembarking outside Central Railway.
Last month a prisoner escaped Goulburn by tying bedsheets together and climbing a wall.
Stephen Jamieson, 28, was caught less than 12 hours later after he allegedly used a stolen ute to lead police on a 40km chase.
NSW isn't the only state to have had recent escapes.
In Early September two teenagers spent a day on the run after escaping from Numinbah Correctional Centre in Queensland.
In Tasmania last month a prisoner who escaped from Risdon Prison, near Hobart, was rearrested when he surrendered himself to authorities after a standoff.
Chahine is described as being of Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern appearance, with a medium build, wearing a blue singlet, and no shoes.