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RCMP continue search for missing inmate, stolen correctional vehicle

Jan 4, 2019 | 11:00 AM

A man who fled from the minimum security unit at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary New Year’s Eve could potentially still be driving around in a stolen correctional vehicle, according to RCMP.
 
Steven Briggs and the blue Dodge truck were last seen in the Yorkton area Tuesday afternoon. Paul Dederick, a media spokesperson for the RCMP, told paNOW there’s been no new information.
 
“We continue to appeal to the public in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba to keep an eye out and report any possible sightings to us. We are pursuing every investigational avenue available to us,” he said.
 
Briggs, 24, was serving a seven year sentence, following convictions in 2015 on charges of assault and robbery. Despite Briggs’s criminal record, Dederick said the public should not be afraid.

“Our understanding is that he poses no immediate threat to public safety,” he said.
 
While the search continues for Briggs, a seperate investigation continues back at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary. The question remains how Briggs was able to steal the truck. Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Saskatchewan Penitentiary told paNOW the truck had not been left running and the keys had not been left in the ignition. Staff policy also dictates all vehicles left parked on the grounds are to be locked.

 

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell