Editor’s Note: Bennett has been apprehended. Click here for the latest information.

UPDATE, SEPT. 18, 10:54 A.M.:

ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) — The search for an escaped inmate who was on work release in Elkins is still underway Monday, Randolph County Sheriff Rob Elbon confirmed to 12 News on Monday.

Elbon said the sheriff’s office is utilizing K-9 units and working with the United States Marshals Service in an attempt to find Denver Bennett, who escaped on Friday.

West Virginia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) records show that Bennett has two prior convictions: Shoplifting, 3rd offense in 2018 and felony fleeing from an officer in a vehicle in 2022, and was being held in the Pruntytown Correctional Center. DCR records list him as 6’0″ tall and 210 pounds.

Over the weekend, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office shared with residents that Bennett is a Randolph County native who knows the area well, and that “he is a woodsman type and very elusive in the forest setting.”

The sheriff’s office asked that anyone who sees Bennett not approach him, but to call 911 immediately, give thorough details—including clothing—and directions to the dispatcher, and if possible, get a picture.

Residents were also told to lock their cars and homes and monitor home camera alerts in case he walks through their property.

ORIGINAL, SEPT. 15, 1:11 P.M.:

ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) — An inmate fled from his work crew at the Mountain State Forest Festival Building near Bluegrass Park in Elkins, the city announced Friday afternoon.

Residents are asked not to approach Denver Bennett if they see him, and instead call 911 immediately.

According to the West Virginia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) website, Bennett is an inmate at the Pruntytown Correctional Center who has two prior convictions: Shoplifting, 3rd offense in 2018 and felony fleeing from an officer in a vehicle in 2022.

DCR records list him as 6’0″ and 210 pounds.