Convicted Murderer Still on the Loose After Breaking Out of Prison in Texas

By Michael Graczyk Associated Press Writer Published: Sep 13, 2001

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) - Officers were searching the Gulf Coast for a convicted killer who escaped through a light fixture in his prison cell and left behind a dummy to make it look like he was still locked up. Harold Laird is believed to have stolen a pickup truck that contained a .22-caliber rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition after his escape from the state prison near Beaumont early Wednesday, officials said. He was still on the loose late Wednesday, said Larry Todd, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Laird, 26, is locked up 23 hours a day at the prison because he has a history of combative behavior and assaulting officers, said department spokesman Larry Fitzgerald.

Laird was 17 when he was sentenced to life in prison for killing a Douglas Redd, 59, a former homeless man who had once befriended Laird and taken him into his home. Redd and a female companion were shot, killed and robbed.

After escaping through the light fixture, Laird eventually made it to the roof, then to another building, where he jumped to the ground and vaulted a fence, authorities said.

"He defeated the razor wire somehow," Fitzgerald said.

Officers checking on Laird discovered him missing shortly before 6:30 a.m., a few hours after he was served breakfast. They found the dummy he had tried to fashion in his cell.

Tracking dogs picked up Laird's scent near the prison, about 25 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. A private homeowner in the area reported his truck stolen. Inside the truck, were the rifle and ammunition, Fitzgerald said.

Todd said authorities are searching for Laird in the Gulf Coast area and have put out alerts to law enforcement officers nationally.

AP-ES-09-13-01 0555EDT

-- Anonymous, September 13, 2001

Answers

I hope my son is aware of this--he's in that area. I'll call him.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 2001