Prisoner escape: Manhunt underway for Gino Hagenkotter after escaping custody outside prison
PHILADELPHIA - A manhunt is underway for a Philadelphia inmate who officials say escaped during an outdoor work assignment Thursday.
Gino Hagenkotter, a 34-year-old prisoner at Riverside Correctional Facility, escaped while working in an orchard behind Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center.
Philadelphia Department of Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney told reporters that Hagenkotter asked an officer if he could use the bathroom just before noon and escaped by climbing a fence at the rear of the orchard. Officials say the officer on duty reported Hagenkotter missing around 12:05 p.m.
3 different prison escape incidents shake up Philadelphia residents over past 6 months
From Danelo Cavalcante sparking a two-week manhunt in September to two inmates escaping the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center in May, locals react to news of another inmate escaping Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center Thursday afternoon.
Hagenkotter was incarcerated for charges related to theft and burglary, according to officials, and was scheduled to be released from prison in late-April. He met the criteria for an outdoor work assignment, officials said.
Hagenkotter was due to be released from the nearby Riverside Correctional Facility into a transitional program on Thursday. But officials canceled the transfer after learning he had open retail theft charges in suburban Bucks County, and told Hagenkotter he would continue serving time at Riverside until April, Carney said. She said officials believe that played a role in his decision to escape.
The escape prompted all Philadelphia prisons to be placed on lockdown and visits have been discontinued.
The U.S. Marshals, involved in high-profile captures including this summer’s pursuit of killer Danelo Cavalcante, are leading the search for Hagenkotter.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark tells FOX 29, working on a warrant for escape charges, investigators are visiting past addresses for the escapee and speaking with people who may know where he’ll go.
Clark says they’ve had "no credible sightings" since Thursday afternoon and the search could be "slow and methodical."
The escape came on the same day city prisons officials say an inmate was beaten to death by his cellmate at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.
Earlier this week authorities reported that a man wanted for crimes in Philadelphia and New York escaped custody at Jefferson Hospital.
Search for escaped prisoner continues, officials detail suspected motive
After officials found out the 34-year-old escaped inmate was connected to a retail theft in Bucks County they cancelled his scheduled transfer to a program, leaving them to believe that change was his motive for escaping. Watch for more details.
Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center is the same prison where Ameen Hurst, 18, and Nasir Grant, 24, escaped in May to spark a 10-day manhunt.
Hurst was jailed in connection to three deadly shootings, including a deadly quadruple shooting in March 2020 and a homicide outside a Philadelphia prison.
Grant was incarcerated on weapons and drug charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report