U.S. Marshal’s office continues search for prison escapee
By Bianca Buono
bbuono@abc6.com
@BBuonoABC6
The hunt continues Tuesday for the escaped inmate from the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. Law enforcement officers from Massachusetts and Rhode Island are now trying to find James Morales and are turning to the public for help.
"Today we are not going to discuss nor disclose any information about what we know,” said U.S. Marshal for Rhode Island Jamie Hainsworth in a press conference Tuesday.
Officials were tight-lipped and refused to release any information he and other law enforcement agencies have learned in the search for James Morales.
"It takes unity amongst law enforcement to apprehend someone that’s escaped and on the run,” said Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Col. Richard McKeon.
It took prison employees around three hours Saturday night to realize Morales was missing. An hour after they realized it, they notified local and state police just before midnight New Year’s Eve. That’s when officials put the pieces together. Morales, a former Army reservist, had scaled a building, climbed over barbed wire fences, stolen a car and fled.
“We will in the near future take a look at the facts and circumstances of what Wyatt Detention Facility handling of the events including the notification of the process of security,” Hainsworth said.
Morales has been spotted in a Framingham neighborhood and residents there are concerned for their safety; but officials would not comment on where they believe Morales is now.
"We’ve increased our community action teams within the town of Framingham, MA. That’s not to say he’s there or not,” McKeon said.
Morales was being held on charges that he broke into a Worcester armory and stole a number of firearms. He’s considered extremely dangerous and possibly armed.
"Turn yourself in,” said Hainsworth.
Officials say Morales was likely injured by barbed wire when he escaped. They’re asking that all area hospitals and medical centers keep a close eye out for him.
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