SEATTLE (AP) -- Authorities on Sunday were searching for two inmates who escaped from a minimum-security prison in Washington state by climbing over a chain-link fence topped with razor wire.
Sage Bear, 26, was serving an almost 11-year sentence for first-degree manslaughter after accidentally shooting a close friend in the head. The other, Richard Harvell, 30, was serving 3½ years on a gun charge.
The Department of Corrections warned people not to approach the pair but to call 911 or the prison they escaped from, the Cedar Creek Corrections Center southwest of Olympia, if they see them.
Harvell and Bear escaped over the fence around 9:40 p.m. Saturday, corrections spokeswoman Pam Moore said Sunday. Officials noticed they were missing by 10 p.m., began escape response procedures and conducted an immediate headcount.
Prison officials found "some evidence" at the spot where Harvell and Bear escaped, she said, but she declined to elaborate. Corrections teams and law enforcement were looking for them.
King County Superior Court records say Bear killed his friend, Armin Okanovic, in 2007, while the two were playing with a handgun they thought was unloaded. Okanvic pointed it at Bear and dry-fired it, but when Bear pointed it back at Okanovic and fired, the gun went off.
Bear, who was 17 at the time, was involved in gangs and had previously been convicted of robbery, burglary and theft, prosecutors said. He had been warned in court at least four times that he was not allowed to have guns.
Bear was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison. His anticipated release date was in July 2018.
Harvell was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm in Snohomish County. He began serving his sentence in March, officials said. His release date was tentatively set for March 2019.
Bear was described as Native American, 6-foot-1 (185 centimeters) and 160 pounds (72.6 kilograms), with brown hair and eyes.
Harvell was described as white, 6-foot-2 (188 centimeters) and 185 pounds (84 kilograms), with brown hair and eyes.
Each has a tattoo over his left eyebrow.
Cedar Creek Corrections Center houses about 480 male prisoners.
---
