By JOE DEPRIEST
LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — Lincoln County authorities were searching the Vale area Thursday afternoon for an inmate who escaped from a Department of Corrections work gang.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, Stacy Clinton, 27, left the work detail on Reeps Grove Church Road in Vale at 12:45 p.m. He is serving time in the Gaston Correctional Center for felonious possession of stolen goods, authorities said.
Three schools were placed on lockdown from 2 p.m. to the end of the school day, said Lincoln County schools spokeswoman Belinda Branson. Branson said police officers were called out to keep watch during dismissal so that students could safely head home.
Clinton was described as a white male, 6 feet, 155 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and green prison issue pants. Authorities reported Clinton has relatives on Gantt and Willis roads in Vale and may have been headed in that direction.
Copyright 2008 Charlotte Observer