Oregon State Police Search for Inmate Who Escaped from Work Crew in Lakeview

UPDATE: Warner Creek DOC Walk Away Back In Custody

David Jones, an adult in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) Warner Creek Correctional Facility who escaped from a work crew in Lakeview on Monday, is back in the custody of the DOC after less than ten hours on the run.

After walking away from a work crew at Pacific Pine Wood Mill in Lakeview at around 7.36 am on Monday, Jones was found in California and taken into custody by the California Highway Patrol at around 4.53 pm on the same evening in Humboldt County.

The Oregon State Police (OSP) and the DOC Fugitive Apprehension Unit are looking for Donald Jones, 39, an adult in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) who walked away from a Lakeview work crew on Monday, January 27.

Lakeview Prisoner Escapes From Prison Work Crew

At about 7:36 a.m. yesterday, at Pacific Pine Wood Mill, 17634 US Highway 395 in Lakeview, Oregon, Jones, a white male weighing 275 lbs., 6′ tall, with blue eyes and brown hair, walked away from a work crew. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and DOC-issued clothing, which was discovered after his departure.

Jones was housed at Warner Creek Correctional Facility (WCCF)- a minimum-security prison in Lakeview that houses approximately 486 adults in custody who are within four years of release, after entering DOC custody on June 4, last year, on Coos County charges of attempting to elude a police vehicle and the unauthorized use of a vehicle.

His earliest release date had been set at July 22, 2025.

WCCF, Oregon’s newest operating prison, opened in September 2005 and offers a range of correctional programs and services.

In May 2008, the prison received the State Energy Efficiency Design (SEED) award for its progress in design efficiency, including the use of geothermal energy, which provides 100 percent of the hot water to the facility.

The DOC and OSP are investigating the incident and asked anyone with information about Jones’s whereabouts to contact:

• OSP at 1-800-452-7888,
• The DOC Fugitive Apprehension Unit at 503-569-0734, or
• The non-emergency number of their local police department

Police warned members of the public not to approach Fugitive Jones.