TILLAMOOK, Ore. (AP) - A manhunt has been launched for an Oregon inmate who walked away from a highway work crew, the state Department of Corrections said.
Brandon Sykes, 35, was in custody at the South Fork Forest Camp in Tillamook before he escaped custody Monday, corrections officials said.
Sykes walked away from the crew around 11:30 a.m. while working along Highway 6 in the Coast Range, officials said.
Sykes was convicted of several counts of assault and kidnapping in Columbia County. His earliest possible release date was in October 2021.
Sykes was described as a white male, 5 feet, 9 inches tall (175 centimeters), weighing 195 pounds (88 kilograms) with green eyes and brown hair.
He was last seen wearing blue jeans with the word “inmate” stenciled on the knee in orange and a blue T-shirt, sweatshirt and coat with similar stencils.
The South Fork facility is a minimum-security work camp housing about 200 inmates who are within four years of release, the corrections department said.
The Oregon Department of Corrections Fugitive Apprehension Unit and the Oregon State Police are investigating, authorities said.
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