A PRISON inmate, charged with the armed robbery of 18 tourists, who escaped from the Princess Margaret Hospital in February, has finally been captured.

Police say that around noon yesterday, Drug Enforcement Unit officers came across Frederick Green on Fire Trail Road.

They also recovered a shotgun and a quantity of ammunition.

Green escaped from custody through a window while seeking medical attention at the hospital around 4am on February 21.

It was the second time an inmate escaped from the hospital while under prison guard in just over two months.

Green faces two armed robbery charges, but has no criminal convictions, according to a statement from Her Majesty's Prisons.

Green, who was restrained at the ankles, was being watched by one officer at the time of his escape, said Prison Superintendent Dr Elliston Rahming.

The guard left briefly to use the bathroom. When he returned, Green had disappeared, Dr Rahming said.

"Upon his return, mysteriously, the inmate had gone. The officer was able to see the inmate, I understand, get into a vehicle which is a matter of curiosity to me for sure," he said.

Nearly a month after his escape, police thought they had Green when a man fitting his description was seen on a bus.

Police were tipped off and the jitney was intercepted on Wulff Road.

The man was taken into custody for questioning, but police later confirmed he was not Green.

Green was first remanded to prison after being charged with the 2009 armed robbery of 18 tourists at Earth Village. He is still awaiting trial.

He was also charged with the 2004 stabbing death of Dale Williams.

However, he was acquitted of the charge after claiming he was defending himself against an attempted rape by a "gay, HIV positive man."