Contributed photo

Escaped inmate James Kinney is seen in this photo released by authorities Tuesday.

Few leads found in hunt for dangerous inmate who fled EOCI

eastoregonian.com/front page/10-5-99

By the East Oregonian

PENDLETON - Despite the coordinated efforts of investigators from the Oregon State Police, Pendleton police, the Sheriff's Department and the Department of Correction's Fugitive Apprehension Unit, it's unclear whether or not an inmate who escaped Saturday night has left the area.

OSP and officers with the Fugitive Apprehension Unit searched a freight train Saturday night, shortly after convicted sex offender James Kinney escaped by lurching over the security fences at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in west Pendleton at about 10:30 p.m. It was the first escape in EOCI's 14-year history.

No sign of Kinney was found on the train.

Bill Moore, administrative investigator for the Fugitive Apprehension Unit, said the unit followed a trail that "looked like it led to a vehicle" less than one mile away. But no conclusive evidence was found.

Police agencies stopped short of arousing residents with a door-to-door check.

Investigators have followed several leads but admitted they have no evidence to show whether Kinney is still in the area or is gone.

"State police are continuing to work with Department of Correction Fugitive Apprehension Unit to develop leads," said Lt. Mike McCullough of Oregon State Police.

McCullough said that investigators were unable to make a positive ID from video footage provided by Albertson's. A man matching Kinney's description was reportedly seen in Albertson's shortly after Kinney escaped.

"We've got a couple of calls we've checked out but we haven't developed any information at this point to indicate he's in this area," McCullough said. However, McCullough added, they don't have any evidence to indicate Kinney's not in the area either.

Moore said his unit is "following up on leads" as well.

"There is no real evidence to say whether Kinney left the area or to say that he's in the area," Moore said. "Right now there's not a whole lot to go on."

Lt. Gary Ward of the Pendleton Police Department said his department is cooperating with OSP in the investigation.

"We aren't discounting any leads," Ward said.

Jean Hill, superintendent at EOCI, said her main concern is the public.

"Anytime a felony offender escapes, our major concern is public safety," Hill said.

DOC officials knew that Kinney was an escape risk. As an inmate at EOCI in 1997, Kinney was found with a homemade rope. At that point he was transferred to the Intensive Management Unit at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. Inmates placed in IMU typically remain there anywhere from six months to a year. Kinney was transferred back to EOCI last February.

Brian Beaus, administrator of classification for DOC, said Kinney had too many "enemies" at Salem to leave him there. One of those, Beaus said, was a fellow convict who had revealed Kinney's intent to escape. The other was a convict who had physically restrained Kinney when he attacked a Josephine County corrections officer.

"Everybody knew he was an escape risk," Beaus said.

Beaus defended the decision to move Kinney from the maximum security prison at Salem to EOCI.

"He's had very few problems since March of '98 (when he was placed in the IMU at Salem). He's been in compliance with his program, behaving by the rules," Beaus explained.

Inmates like Kinney are routinely moved between maximum and medium security prisons. Beaus said the only inmates who remain under a lock-down situation on a full-time basis are death row inmates.

Kinney was considered to be a "close-custody" inmate. Beaus said close-custody inmates are "watched more closely than the general run-of-the-mill-inmate."

Which begs the question of how Kinney managed to escape.

"Something went wrong. We don't have an answer to that question yet ... I'm not trying to justify this. Something went wrong. Something was not done right," Beaus said.

One cause for hope is the FAU's success rate in tracking down fugitives from state prisons.

The most recent Oregon prison beak prior to Saturday night's incident occurred two weeks ago when an inmate walked off a work detail at the minimum security Powder River Correctional Institution in Baker City, Moore said. That fugitive was arrested in Portland within a week.

Since it was established in 1992, the FAU has cleared 696 cases of Oregon prison escapees dating back to 1942, Moore said. There are still 162 fugitives unaccounted for since '42 - either recent escapees who have not been returned to prison or older cases that show no evidence that the escapee has died.

Since Jan. 1, 1996, Moore said there have been 245 prisoners who have escaped from state correctional facilities. He noted that most of those prisoners walked away from work details. He called an actual prison break from a secure facility a rarity.

Since 1996, FAU has recorded 289 captures of fugitives, which could include apprehension of prisoners who escaped prior to 1996.