Escapee from D. Ray James Correctional Facility

A 35-year-old Haitian national named Beneck Barthold, was discovered missing at approximately 10 a.m. Sunday November 1st and is believed to have traveled in an easterly direction into a wooded area behind the prison facility.

When he cleared the fence, he was nude and appeared to have been injured by the security fence. His hair was last seen styled in dreadlocks.

Multiple agencies responded and a perimeter was established. A Drone was used to attempt to locate the suspect but to no avail. Two teams of tracking dogs were used but lost the track deep in the woods.

GSP & DNR Aviation units were unable to respond due to adverse weather conditions.

Officers patrolled the area throughout the night and search efforts are be upgraded this morning.

We put out alerts thru Charlton EMA and Facebook and went door to door in housing near the prison to insure those residents were safe.

Please don’t hesitate to call if you need us or if you hear or see anything that raises concerns.

Call 911 or 912-496-7321 or my cell phone 912-276-4854. Nothing is unimportant if it makes you uneasy-call us!