Oregon Prisoner Walks Away from Job Site in Salem During Lunchtime

A male prisoner who walked away from a work site in Salem yesterday (Friday) was quickly apprehended by Oregon State Police near Mission Street, a main traffic thoroughfare linking the central city to the coast.

He Was Serving a Sentence in a Minimum Security Prison

According to a news release from the Oregon Department of Corrections, Steven Timothy Gant was serving a sentence in a minimum-security prison in the city after he was found guilty on two counts of the unlawful use of a motor vehicle in Douglas County.

Gant began his sentence on Christmas Eve last year, and his earliest date of release was set for 14 May 2026.

He is an inmate at the Santiam Correctional Institution (SCI) in Salem where 440 adults due for release within four years are housed in a building attached to the Oregon State Hospital, constructed in 1946.

The SCI offers work crews to contracted state agencies, local organizations, and private industries within a 60-mile radius of Salem. The SCI also provides other correctional programs and services such as transition programs, education, and religious services.