Escaped prisoner found living in cave in China after 17 years on the run

This guy went from inmate to hermit.

An escaped prisoner who had been on the run from police in China for 17 years was finally tracked down by authorities — living in a tiny cave in the mountains, according to new reports.

Song Jiang, 63, busted out of prison in 2002 after being jailed on human trafficking charges and had eluded police ever since, the New Zealand Herald reported Monday.

Cops finally found some clues earlier this month in the mountains behind his hometown in Yunnan Province, after they decided to take a new look at the cold case manhunt.

A police drone spotted a blue piece of steel among the trees in the forest — and came in for a closer look to find garbage and debris around the entrance of a small cave, the Herald said.

Yongshan police officers made the climb to the site and found Jiang — disheveled and struggling to communicate after years of isolation — living in a cave of just over 2 square yards.

Jiang later told police he survived by collecting water from a nearby stream and cooking food over small fires, according to the report.