Amid confusing messaging, search continues for man who escaped Shediac jail
CBC
Police are still searching for Todd John Lewis, the 35-year-old who escaped a provincial jail in Shediac, N.B., on Thursday by climbing a fence, despite seemingly conflicting messaging sent through public alerts.
An emergency alert sent out at 1:19 p.m. AT Saturday by RCMP said Lewis was "still at large." The alert also advised residents not to approach him and if seen, to call 911.
However, around the same time Saturday, New Brunswick RCMP posted to Facebook saying the alert sent provincewide Friday that said RCMP were searching for Lewis had ended.
It's unclear why the two messages were sent out.
Asked why this happened, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Hans Ouellette called it a "technical" matter.
He said emergency alerts tend to last 24 hours.
Normally, an alert is then sent out saying it's no longer in effect.
In this case, Ouellette said RCMP determined the threat was "no longer the same" and it wasn't necessary for the alert to remain active, but it's unclear why the message that went out did not say the alert was over.
Ouellette said police can choose to reactivate emergency alerts in situations where the threat to the public is high.
Lewis escaped from Southeast Regional Correctional Centre, about 25 kilometres northeast of Moncton, around 5:20 p.m. Thursday and ran off toward nearby Route 15, police said.
Police were notified about the escape around 12:30 a.m. Friday and then notified the public later that day.
Lewis is described by RCMP as five feet seven inches, 146 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was last spotted wearing blue pants, a brown coat and black hat.
According to an RCMP news release, Lewis was previously charged with weapons-related offences, although the charges are not specified. Lewis was being held in jail while awaiting his court date, police told CBC News Friday.
Police wrote in a social media post that he could be in the greater Moncton area.
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