Days Creek, Ore. — While Oregon State Police search for a missing inmate from the Stouts Creek Fire camp it’s business as usual at the camp.
134 prison inmates are working at the camp near Canyonville. Some work the fire lines while other provide services and maintenance on site. But early Sunday morning one of those inmates, Kenneth Polchowski, walked away from the camp.
Lieutenant Justin Wylie is a correctional officer at South Fork near Tillamook. He said the last time an inmate escaped from a fire camp was in 2004 at the Bland Mountain Fire in Myrtle Creek.
“We send hundreds of inmates out to work in the community every day, so an inmate walking away from a work environment or a remote fire camp like this is very rare,” Wylie said.
There are 15 correctional officers working at the camp, that’s roughly one officer for nine inmates. Wylie believes it’s enough.
“We have a selection criteria that needs to be met,” he said. “We have a screening process that the inmates go through to make sure they’re appropriate to be out here.”
Lt. Wylie said the officers to checks every hour during the day and every half hour at night to make sure the inmates are accounted for. He also said despite an escaped inmate they’ll continue to bring out the others to work in the community.
“These guys are out here doing great work and providing great service to the firefighters so I don’t think it would be fair to judge all inmates based on the action of one,” he said.
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