Police are looking for a prisoner who gave a B.C. Corrections officer the slip while being escorted to a meeting Thursday.
Howard Soloman O’Soup, 34, was being escorted with other inmates from Nanaimo Correctional Centre to a meeting in Nanaimo when he went missing at about 7 p.m.
Police are not saying what kind of meeting the inmates were being taken to when O’Soup fled.
“We believe he is still local,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman. “He does have some contacts here, some family and friends.”
O’Brien said O’Soup has an extensive criminal record, mostly for property related offenses, dating back to 1991. Police are cautioning the public not to approach O’Soup.
“You always have to be careful with these people,” O’Brien said. “He’s made a decision that he wasn’t prepared to go back to serve out his time, so therefore, they’re extremely dangerous people. If you know where this person is, please let us deal with it.”
O’Soup, now wanted on a Canada-wide warrant, is non-Caucasian, 5′ 10″ tall, 200 lbs., with brown hair, brown eyes and tattoos on both arms.
Anyone who knows of O’Soup’s whereabouts is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.
