Inmate assigned to wildfire duty gets away

Portland — An Oregon Department of Corrections inmate walked away Sunday morning from a mobile fire camp on the Stouts fire near Canyonville, officials said.

Kenneth Curtis Polchowski, 26, was part of a work crew from Warner Creek Correctional Facility in Lakeview assigned to fight the fire on July 31, corrections officials said.

Polchowski, who was reported missing at 6 a.m., was described as 5-feet-10 inches tall, weighing 180 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Polchowski was last seen wearing blue jeans with the word “inmate” and the Department of Corrections logo stenciled on the knee in orange, and a blue T-shirt with the word “inmate” and the department logo stenciled in orange on the front and back.

There are about 100 inmates assigned to the fire, which has burned through 22,000 acres and is 30 percent contained, officials said. Inmates are commonly used to bolster regular fire crews during fire season in Oregon.

Polchowski was incarcerated in the minimum-security prison on Jan. 29 after he was convicted of four counts of identity theft, first-degree theft and first -degree burglary in Lane County. His earliest release date was Oct. 6, 2017.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to call Oregon State Police at 1-800-452-7888.