NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Thirty teens “overwhelmed” their minders at a juvenile detention center by simultaneously breaking out of four dormitories and then crawling under a weak spot in a chain-link fence. By Tuesday evening, seven were still on the run.

Police caught up with some walking along roads or coming out of the woods. Some turned themselves in, including one at the guard shack Tuesday evening. And some were swiftly returned to the detention center by their own families for their own good.

“He broke loose, he was gone, but he’s back now,” said LaWanda Knowles, whose nephew joined the escape. “I just want to know that he’s here safely and he’s OK – I don’t want the police jumping on him, nobody beating on him or nothing.”