Published: June 05, 2009 11:34 pm      

Police search Bradley area for escaped inmates

Three inmates from the Mount Olive Correctional Complex minimum-security camp who escaped while on a work detail in Beckley were still on the loose Friday, authorities said.

The men escaped Thursday when their work crew stopped at the Beckley Division of Highways office for lunch.

According to state Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein, the three were in a group of six minimum-security inmates being supervised by one correctional officer.

Rubenstein said such incidents were rare, and he felt one correctional officer was sufficient in monitoring the six inmates.

“On any given day, we have probably 180 inmates out working that we don’t have problems with. These are minimum-security inmates that are considered low-risk with outside clearance,” Rubenstein said.

He says he’s not sure what went through these inmates’ minds when they decided to take off.

“Sadly, the officer had counted all six of them. These three wandered off within a three-minute period of time.”

Law enforcement continued the search for the prisoners into the late hours Friday night with no reported success of finding them.

“We got a call that one of them was seen using a phone booth in Bradley on U.S. 19,” State Police Sgt. Greg Duckworth said.

Duckworth said two troopers responded to the call and spotted the man and two others running into the woods.

K-9 units and police spent most of the day searching the Bradley area.

Rubenstein said he received updated reports that a State Police K-9 did pick up on a scent and fresh footprints were being tracked.

He says the public should be aware of the situation and use caution. He also says the men don’t have any reported violence in their backgrounds or they wouldn’t have been allowed to go out on the work crew.

“I would certainly use caution, but I’m not going to say they’re armed and dangerous,” Rubenstein said.

The minimum-security inmates have either already seen the parole board or are scheduled to see the parole board within a short period of time.

“Now they face a felony escape charge and they’re going to spend a lot more time with us when they’re apprehended,” he said.

The three men were identified as Robert Cole, 27, of Ohio County, serving one to 15 years for manufacturing and delivery of a controlled substance; Brandon Williams, 23, of either Logan, Cabell or Mingo county, serving one to 10 years for grand larceny; and Nicholas Lane, 28, of Cabell County, serving two to 14 years for wanton endangerment and breaking and entering.

Cole, 27, is described as a white male, with brown hair and eyes. He is 5-foot-10 and 174 pounds. He has several tattoos, including a woman with wings on his left front upper arm and a tiger head on his right front upper arm.

Lane, 28, is a white male with brown hair and hazel eyes who stands 6-1 and weighs 190 pounds. He has a 1-inch scar on his left elbow and a tattoo of Indian feathers on the front left upper arm and three stars and barbed wire on the left wrist.

Williams, 23, is a white male with brown hair and eyes, standing 5-11 and weighing 160 pounds. He has a 1-inch scar on the lower front left leg and a 2-inch scar on the top of the right hand. There is a tattoo of praying hands on the upper right front arm.

Anyone with any further information is urged to call their local law enforcement agency immediately.

The State Police number in Beckley is 304-256-6700.

— E-mail: jayres@register-herald.com