CRAWFORD CO.—So far, Robinson Correctional Center inmate Jared Carter has eluded authorities after his successful escape from the prison grounds late this morning (Friday, August 30, 2013).
Carter, 30, was serving a sentence on multiple counts of burglary, theft and forgery, out of Bond, Madison and Clinton counties on the western side of the state. He was not projected for parole until late 2016.
Jared Carter DOC profile mug
Authorities believe he took off from the prison, located northeast of the city of Robinson on Highway 1, at about 10:30-11 a.m. this morning. There has been no word on how he exited the prison grounds. For whatever reason, he wasn’t wearing prison garb, but was wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans, as well as an orange cap. Those items were found in the woods outside the prison about an hour after Carter went missing. There was no official word on what Carter might be wearing. Different sightings today have put him in three different colors of shirts (white, blue and light green) and shorts of some sort.
Authorities with several law enforcement agencies and Department of Corrections personnel pursued Carter on foot, but essentially lost him within the city of Robinson. A manhunt has been conducted all day today and included search dogs, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The search focused on a section of the west side of Robinson for awhile, then the vicinity of the park, then an area southeast of the Marathon Refinery. At that point, when Carter was spotted, he fled into the woods south of town and there have been no reports of him yet.
However, it was reported about mid-day that Carter had broken into a house belonging to Jim Hill—who was on vacation—and made a phone call to his sister. Where his sister is, and who his sister is, we don’t know yet. But it might be possible that he already has had some help with his escape, and now, with the cover of night, he’s still managing to elude searchers.
Jared Carter DOC mug
Currently, there are still sections of Robinson blocked off while search teams remain in the area (14th Street is blocked off; so is McDudley Lane, as well as 900 and Eaton streets). The authorities are checking every lead; one of the latest this evening involves a house on Madison, where a back door was kicked in (but no one entered); police are working on getting the boot impression off the door to see if it might match the footwear Carter was last known to have on.
Residents of Robinson and all of Crawford County are advised to keep doors and windows locked and secure; and vehicles as secure as they can be made, as Carter is said to be familiar with stealing cars. Some reports have indicated that authorities believe Carter might be armed in some way; but Disclosure hasn’t been able to confirm this with authorities.
Anyone encountering a man fitting Carter’s description is asked to contact authorities via 911 immediately. Carter is a 6-foot-tall, 210-pound white male, bald, with noticeable tattoos on his arms and neck. He has been sporting a goatee as show in the photo, but he may already have chopped that off.