Escaped Inmate Eludes Cops After Traffic Stop
The inmate escaped prison on his fifth attempt.
— -- Police were hunting today for a North Carolina man who escaped from prison after five attempts and has so far evaded capture, despite being sought by as many as 45 officers.
Police were conducting an air and ground search for Hoyle Mincey, an inmate at the Wateree Correctional Institution in Shelby, N.C.
Mincey was on the run for a week when he was spotted Saturday morning driving an allegedly stolen van and pulled over by police. But Mincey evaded capture and ran into a wooded area, police told ABC News affiliate WSOC-TV in Charlotte, N.C.
Mincey is supposed to be serving a sentence for a burglary conviction.
This is his fifth attempt at escaping prison, according to WSOC.
Police said that although Mincey is not considered violent, anyone who thinks they see him should still be cautious.
"Nothing in his history is violent, but people do things in desperate times," Shelby Police Chief Jeffrey Ledford said. "Don't engage him. Smile, wave, go back inside (and) call us."
Mincey has tattoos of a snake, dagger, Joker, Vicon, lion's heart, wizard and eagle. His left ring finger is amputated.
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