CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) -- Officials with Silverdale Correctional Facility continue working Monday
night to track down an escaped inmate.
Sunday morning, 29-year-old Darrious Brown escaped from the Standifer Place Assisted
Living off Walker Road, while on work-release.
"Upon arriving and beginning a work detail at the Standifer Place Laundry,
inmate Darrious Brown fled the work area," says Brandi Kennedy, with Silverdale
Correctional Facility.
Two guards were watching Brown and nine other inmates while they did laundry at
Standifer.
In the blink of an eye, Brown managed to get out of his orange work suit and
into plain clothes, before making his escape.
Just about a mile down the road is the busy shopping of Gunbarrel Road, or in
this case, many nearby left questioning the safety of work release.
"Well I think they can be good, but you know, inevitably, this type of
thing is going to happen," Lou Hudson says. "If you take and inmate and give
him the opportunity to get freedom."
"This is a rare incident," Kennedy says. "Again, it's an isolated
incident."
Silverdale officials maintain Brown is not a threat to the public. Out of
the hundreds of inmates behind bars, only so many are approved for work
release.
"Inmates come and they're processed by our classification system, as well
as our Hamilton County staff that we have in," Kennedy says. "The inmates are
approved on, or off, compound and they're scheduled for work release
programs."
"I think it's worth it trying to get these people acclimated to regular
society again, because at some point they're going to be back out," area
resident, Raquel Kerr says.
In the meantime, law enforcement wants you to be on the lookout.
Being from the Chattanooga area, investigators believe Brown could be staying
with friends or family.
"The safety of the community is our first and highest priority at this
time," Kennedy says. "And we're doing everything that we can along with local
law enforcement to try and apprehend Mr. Brown back into our custody."
Brown was serving a year sentence for two theft charges in addition to other
charges, with only five months left to serve.
He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and matching head rag with khaki
pants.
[READ MORE: Search on for escaped Silverdale inmate]
