Prisoner holds dental technician as hostage at Wisconsin prison

A dental technician was taken hostage at a prison Wednesday, forcing the facility to go into lockdown.

Photo: Prisoner holds dental technician as hostage at Wisconsin prison

The 37-year-old inmate was working in the institution's Health and Segregation Complex when he took the female technician hostage, Deputy Warden Michael Meisner said. He was holding her in a room in that area of the prison, and communicating with hostage negotiators.

"I can report that all staff are safe and nobody has been harmed," Meisner said.

Prison officials learned of the hostage situation at Waupun Correctional Institution about 6:30 a.m. Other inmates were in their cells, and they were restricted from moving around the prison.

The maximum-security prison is in central Wisconsin, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.