Inmate Fails To Report Back After Work Release

Law enforcement agencies across Kansas and the state Department of Corrections are looking for an inmate who failed to return to the Wichita Work Release Facility Saturday night.

Pete Vazquez was declared an escapee about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, said Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman Jan Lunsford. Vazquez had been due back from his job with a construction company about 7:45 p.m. Saturday. Employers will often call the facility saying they need work release inmates to stay longer, Lunsford said.

“Somebody called and we thought it was the guy’s work, but it was not,” he said.

Vazquez was serving a sentence in a Finney County theft case. He had been at the work release facility since the beginning of February, when the corrections department determined he was suitable for work release.

“The point of work release is to transition these guys,” Lunsford said. “The jog is one of the key components to keeping them out of prison.”

Vazquez is five feet, seven inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds. Anybody who knows where Vasquez is should call 911 or local law enforcement.