Escapee surrenders without incident

UPDATED: 4:14 p.m.
Jason Scott Arkenberg, an escapee from Crittenden County Detention Center, gave himself up to police this afternoon. Arkenberg had escaped the Crittenden County Detention Center early this morning and had been at large all day. He was found at the former Turner and Conyer sawmill off U.S. 60 West. He surrendered to Marion Police Department who talked him out of hiding without incident over a public address system.

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State and local authorities are looking for a man who escaped from the Crittenden County Detention Center early this morning. The subject could be armed and dangerous.

The search was concentrated around an area between the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's garage on Old Salem Road near the junction with Ky. 91 North and the former Turner and Conyer Lumber Co. Police were using a dog, trying to pick up the escapee's scent in the wooded area between the old West Side Market and the saw mill. However, use of the dog was stopped when rain started falling about 10:45 a.m.

Arkenberg

Authorities say the man, Jason Scott Arkenberg, 40, was a trusty at the jail. While taking garbage to an outdoor dumpster this morning around 6:30 a.m., he fled on foot. Police think he most likely broke into a building at the state's highway garage, where he once worked as a trusty.

Heath Martin, supervisor of the county's state road crew, said the highway garage's building had, indeed, been broken into this morning, with several windows smashed and other vandalism apparent. Martin said a quick inventory revealed the damages, around $50 or $60 or so missing from the garage's employee snack area and a Critttenden County road map left lying on the floor. A kitchen utensil having been sharpened and black tape wrapped around it as a possible handle for the shank was also found.

The escapee, who worked at the county road department between stints at the state garage, last worked for Martin in October or November of last year, the supervisor said. He has also worked on the jail's mowing crew since having been incarcerated there since March 2011 on charges of arson, receiving stolen property and fleeing or evading police.

Arkenberg left the jail wearing a khaki jail jumpsuit and a white thermal, long-sleeve shirt underneath the jumpsuit. He was last seen in the area of the highway garage at approximately 9 a.m. and may have obtained camouflage overalls, according to state police. He is 5-6, weighs 190 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes.

Authorities urge caution, advising residents to take precautions such as keeping their doors locked and removing the keys from their vehicles, as well as avoiding contact with unknown individuals.

If you see this subject, do not approach or attempt to apprehend him. Call 911 or contact the Kentucky State Police at 1-800-222-5555.