Four jail escapees from Ohio were captured in Bellevue yesterday, thanks to the teamwork of eight law enforcement agencies and a K-9 unit from neighboring Ross.

The four "disheveled" and dirty male inmates, who escaped Sunday night from a jail in Columbiana County, Ohio, were being held at the Allegheny County Jail pending arraignment and extradition to Ohio. Police also arrested one of the suspect's girlfriends.

About 1:40 p.m. yesterday, Pennsylvania State Police, working with information provided by Ohio authorities, alerted Bellevue police to be on the lookout for a stolen 1995 Buick with the escaped men. Bellevue police Officer Michael Hudson spotted the vehicle a short time later while patrolling on Kendall Avenue. He stopped the car less than a quarter mile away in a residential neighborhood.

The driver, later identified by police as Jason Heffner, ran off into a steep wooded area. The Bellevue patrol officer held the four people remaining in the car and called for backup.

While officers and sheriff's deputies set up a perimeter, a K-9 unit from Ross flushed Mr. Heffner from the woods. He was arrested about 2:40 p.m. by an undercover officer from Ross.

Bellevue police Sgt. Matthew Lucas said the three men, William Merritt, 40, and Mark Foden, 38, both of East Liverpool, and John Hamilton, 21, of Salem, all had fugitive warrants. Also in the car was Mr. Heffner's girlfriend, Melissa McCulley, 26, of Slainesville, who was held on a drug charge.

Investigators said the inmates escaped the Ohio jail by crawling through air ducts onto a roof and then jumping to the ground, according to KDKA-TV.