NEW YORK (WPIX) — Authorities in New York are searching for a prisoner who escaped a prison barge, officials confirmed on Saturday.
According to WPIX, David Mordukhaev, 30, escaped a New York City Department of Correction holding facility in the Bronx. The inmate was discovered missing around 4:35 a.m. on Saturday when officials discovered he was not inside his housing unit at the Vernon C. Bain Center in Hunts Point
The facility, a massive barge anchored near Halleck Street that’s used to hold DOC inmates, was placed on lockdown and a manhunt was immediately launched, officials said.
Police described Mordukhaev as about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and 200 pounds.
DOC Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Peter Thorne told WPIX the escape was unacceptable and a full investigation was underway.
“This morning, at the Vernon C. Bain Center (VCBC) in the Bronx, it was determined that an individual in custody was missing from his assigned housing area,” Thorne said. “Our Correction Intelligence Bureau immediately began working around-the-clock with our law enforcement partners at multiple levels. No escape from our facilities is ever acceptable and we are taking every step to locate and return this individual to custody. A thorough investigation into how this occurred is underway to ensure that this does not happen again, and disciplinary action, if warranted, will be taken at the conclusion of the investigation.”