Adding an extra layer of audacity to an already extraordinary caper, a man claiming to be Hudon-Barbeau called a Montreal radio station to say he'd been shot in the calf during the escape -- and to justify his departure.

"I don't want to cause any harm to anybody. I am not a killer. I never did anything bad to an innocent," the man told 98.5 FM.

"I know that (the escape) wasn't the best thing to do, but I didn't want to stay in prison anymore. I am ready to die."

The man then said the escape was Provencal's idea.

"It was not my idea to get away but Danny convinced me it was his friends who arranged it outside," the man said.

Chopper found

Authorities found the chopper back in Mont-Tremblant, where the flight originated.

The pilot was inside but the men had fled.

The pilot was taken to a hospital for a medical assessment and later for questioning.

Police later said they had ruled him out as a suspect.

The men, meanwhile, escaped in a white Cadillac Escalade -- with police on their tail.

A short-lived breakout

Authorities tracked the SUV to the town of Chersey, about 50 minutes north of Saint-Jerome.

The men got out of the vehicle there and began shooting, said Richard, the police spokesman.

Police shot back, he said, but no one was injured.

LCN, the television station, showed images of a cottage where the men were believed to be hiding. Outside, the white Cadillac stood, its driver's side door open.

Six hours after the escape, police arrested three men.

One of them was Hudon-Barbeau. Police did not release the names of the other two.

But Provencal was still missing.

Several hours would go by before he too was in custody.

Police found him holed up inside a sugar shack in the same city.

He eventually surrendered early Monday morning.

All four men will appear in a court in Saint-Jerome Monday to face charges.

Escapes not unheard of

While spectacular, airborne escapes are not unheard of.