Two escapees from the Winfield Correctional Facility remained on the lam Monday, a day after the vehicle they left in was recovered north of Winfield, a state corrections official said.
Around 7:30 a.m., the 1984 Chevy one-ton box truck was found northeast of Rock. Robert Cook, 52, and Frank Crutchfield, 48, had apparently abandoned the vehicle – used to transport food at the prison – when it sustained a blowout. The two men went missing from the Winfield facility around 1:40 p.m. Saturday and have yet to be located.
Authorities believe the men then stole a truck owned by the city of Douglass sometime Saturday afternoon or early Sunday. That truck is described as a dark blue 2006 GMC Sierra with a license tag of 74914.
The truck has City of Douglass on a door on each side, a brush guard on the front, yellow caution lights on top and two side-mounted tool boxes in the rear.
Jan Lunsford, a spokesperson for the department of corrections, said Cook had been assigned as the driver of the food transport vehicle as part of his duties at the prison. Contrary to initial reports, the truck had no license tag.
Once the transport truck was recovered, it was returned to the prison.
Cook is about 5 feet 10 inches tall with gray hair and beard and hazel eyes. He weighs about 225 pounds. Crutchfield is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs about 230 pounds. He has reddish gray hair that he usually ties back in a ponytail.
Both have a history of escape dating back to separate incidents in 1983, Cook in Sedgwick County and Crutchfield in Shawnee County.
Cook has burglary and theft convictions and a conviction for aggravated indecent solicitation of a child. Crutchfield is serving time for multiple burglaries, thefts and criminal damage to property.
If you see anyone matching the above descriptions, prison officials and authorities ask that you call 911 immediately.
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