Man escapes from Montana prison

DEER LODGE, Mont. (AP) — A search continued Monday for a Montana State Prison inmate who escaped from the prison’s work reentry center over the weekend.

Prison staff noticed that Preston Scott Tucker, 34, was missing from the facility at about 8 a.m. Saturday, the Department of Corrections said. He was last accounted for at about midnight, Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles said Monday.

Tucker is described as being 5 feet, 11 inches (1.8 meters) tall and 200 pounds (91 kilograms). He has brown hair, blue eyes and a tattoo of a cross on his face.

The Montana Highway Patrol provided a helicopter that was used to search the area for about two hours on Saturday morning. A ground search was scaled back early Sunday afternoon, Roselles said.

The prison's work reentry program includes a housing unit that's located outside the secure perimeter of the prison. There was no indication that Tucker had any outside help and there have been no reports of burglaries or stolen vehicles in the Deer Lodge area, Roselles said.

Tucker was sentenced to prison for burglary, stalking and violation of an order of protection in Yellowstone County. Anyone who spots him is asked not to approach him, but to call 911. Deer Lodge-area residents were reminded to lock their vehicles and homes.