An escaped prison inmate in Clark County eluded a second day of a large search effort by law enforcement. He remained at large as of this evening.
Photos of Randall Jacob Marlow, 44, were circulated to police officers and deputies across Clark County and in Oregon. Officers canvassed the wooded area where Marlow was last seen, just east of Hockinson, and other parts of the county.
Marlow and another inmate, Donald William McLain, 33, were part of a landscaping crew working at Clark Rifles, 25115 N.E. Rawson Road, Tuesday afternoon, according to Larch Corrections Center spokeswoman Danette Gadberry.
A crew supervisor noticed the men were missing from the rifle range just before 2 p.m. and launched a search with help from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Corrections escape response team.
McLain was captured eight hours later about 6 miles away, in the 6400 block of Northeast 224th Avenue in Hockinson.
McLain made an appearance in Clark County Superior Court on Wednesday on a charge of first-degree escape. His criminal history included crimes in California and Wyoming. He was serving a 43-month sentence for five counts of forgery, two counts of second-degree theft and drug violations, all committed in Clark County. He was scheduled to be released from prison on April 29, 2017.
His bail on the new charge was set at $75,000. His next court appearance was scheduled for July 1.
Marlow was serving time for five counts of property crimes committed in Snohomish County. His release was scheduled for Dec. 14, 2016.
Gadberry said that it had been at least five years since an inmate had gone missing overnight.
Usually, Gadberry said, when an inmate escapes, he or she is caught within minutes.
The search for Marlow went overnight on Tuesday and was expected to continue all night tonight, if necessary.
“We don’t give up very quick,” Gadberry said.
At the time of Tuesday’s escape, the two men were wearing typical work crew attire: red shirts with white shirts underneath, and khaki pants.
The search team ramped up today to include a community corrections team from Clark County and DOC staff from Olympic and Stafford Creek corrections centers, Gadberry said.
Two dozen officers wearing camouflage and carrying heavy weapons walked the streets of the remote, wooded area searching for Marlow. A trained dog was part of the search team, attempting to track Marlow’s scent, Gadberry said. The teams left fliers with neighbors, businesses and at transportation centers. An automated call also reached people in the area.
“We’re alerting everyone that we’re looking,” Gadberry said.
Other officers were following up on leads, including looking at who has visited Marlow in prison, checking addresses with which he’s associated, and tracking down his phone, mail and in-person contacts.
“I’m sure we’ll get Mr. Marlow, it’s just a matter of being there,” Gadberry said. “I’m pretty sure he’s still in the area.”
Neighbors said today they were aware of the manhunt, but most were going about their business.
Nancy Elder, who owns a therapeutic riding center in Brush Prairie, said she was scared after coming to work alone at 5:30 this morning.
“I looked around, I’d open a door then slammed it and locked it,” she said. “It’s nerve-racking.”
She stayed hidden inside the office of her stables until volunteers showed up to help her search the stalls and barns. They found no sign of Marlow.
“The neighbors around here, we watch out for each other,” she said. She said the escaped inmates may not be dangerous, “but you never know what they’re going to do.”
Other people who live around the rifle range said they weren’t worried about the threat of an escaped prisoner roaming their neighborhood.
Mallory Hayford, 29, and her four children were outside today, working on their large property, located just up the street from Clark Rifles.
“I have a dog; I use the Second Amendment,” she said. “We’re as safe as we can be.”
