Just how cold is it in Kentucky? Apparently cold enough for an escaped prisoner to decide to turn himself in.

Authorities say the inmate escaped from a minimum security facility in Lexington on Sunday. As temperatures dropped into the low single digits Monday, officials say the man walked into a motel and asked the clerk to call police.

Lexington police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts says 42-year-old Robert Vick of Hartford told the clerk he wanted to turn himself in and escape the arctic air.

Roberts says Vick was checked out by paramedics and returned to Blackburn Correctional Complex.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb says Vick would have been dressed in prison-issued khaki pants, a shirt and a jacket when he escaped. Wind chill readings were 20 below zero Monday in Lexington.

(AP)