There was a possible sighting late Friday afternoon of the inmate wanted in an escape Thursday from the South Central Correctional Center at Licking.
Authorities established a perimeter in an area north of Licking, which is bounded by Kimble Road, Highway C and Highway CC. Search efforts included a Missouri State Highway Patrol chopper flying overhead on Friday night, and a Missouri Department of Corrections dog search team was on site.
Officers patrolled the area, and some structures were checked, but nothing was found.
The inmate left a minimum security portion of the South Central Correctional Center Thursday morning at Licking.
The white male, John T. Long, 41, was wearing gray work clothes and a brown coat. He is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 166 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes.
Karen Pojmann, communications director with the Missouri Department of Corrections, said Long was assigned to a minimum security unit that is located outside the secure perimeter. According to Missouri Department of Correction records, Long is serving a six-year sentence for receiving stolen property and second-degree burglary.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol deployed an aircraft to the area. Its officers patroled the area. Canine units with the Missouri Department of Corrections at Farmington and Fordland, as well as the Corrections Emergency Response Team, were activated.
Officers checked areas near the prison and outbuildings. By late afternoon, the scope of the manhunt had scaled down and a patrol helicopter had left the area.
Persons with information should call 911.
Long was received into Missouri Department of Corrections custody from Texas County on June 2, 2017. He had a parole date of Sept. 14, 2019. He has previous convictions for second-degree assault, operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in injury, possession of a controlled substance, resisting/interfering with arrest, second-degree domestic assault and misdemeanor stealing.
Three school districts went on lockdown – Success, Plato, which has since resumed normal activities, and Licking, where doors remained locked and buses ran normal Thursday afternoon.