The Brazoria County Sheriff's Office said 20-year-old Cadarion Avery escaped from the Clemens Unit at about 11:32 p.m. on Friday.
Investigators said Avery walked away from the trusty camp, which is for inmates serving non-violent sentences outside the main prison.
Nearly eight hours later, at about 7:50 a.m. on Saturday, authorities said they found Avery, sporting a white prison uniform, hiding in an abandoned house off of SH 36 in Jones Creek.
"Avery was taken into custody without further incident and transported to the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office Detention Center to be magistrated on additional charges before being turned back over to TDCJ Investigators," the sheriff's office said in an update.
Avery was serving a 5-year sentence for theft out of Smith County.