Search continues for inmate who escaped northwest Minnesota correctional center
The search continues in northeastern Minnesota on Thursday for an escaped inmate.
The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office says 40-year-old Michael Hart fled the Northeast Regional Corrections Center in Saginaw on Tuesday night. The center is located about 20 miles northwest of Duluth.
Hart is believed to be headed towards the town of Independence, about 8 miles north of the facility, the sheriff's office said. Hart is said to have friends, family and associates in the Iron Range.
Thursday morning, authorities released an update in their search for Hart, saying they received reports on Wednesday that he was seen in the area of Highways 8 and 53. Despite searches with K9s, drones and a State Patrol plane, he wasn't found.
In addition, authorities say they found two accomplices and have detained both of them. So far, one of the accomplices has been charged with aiding an offender and is being held at the jail.
He is described as standing 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing about 169 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
Hart was last seen wearing a yellow sweatshirt, a gray T-shirt and blue pants.
The sheriff's office advises anyone with information on his whereabouts to "not approach" him and call 911 immediately.
According to its website, Northeast Regional Corrections Center is a "minimum/medium security institution" for men, and is considered "Minnesota's only correctional work farm."
The center can hold 144 inmates on its 3,200-acre property that borders Caribou and Fish lakes.