Update Thursday 7.42pm
Police have arrested minimum-security inmate Ryan Wennekes, who escaped from a correctional facility at Goulburn earlier today.
Update Thursday 5pm
Police believe escaped Goulburn Jail inmate Ryan Wennekes is still in the local area.
Part of the search has concentrated on the area between the prison, Eastgrove and around Rocky Hill.
Polair has left for the day, given fading light.
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Police could not confirm reports that the escapee had attempted to steal cars. People posted on social media on Thursday afternoon that Wennekes was seen running between cars in the Chantry Street area, a short distance from the prison.
Update Thursday 4.20pm
Corrective Services has confirmed that Goulburn Jail escapee Ryan Wennekes was working at the back of the prison complex when he escaped.
A spokesperson said he was last seen at about midday but was unaccounted for at the 1.30pm muster.
The Goulburn Post understands the inmate was working on demountable classrooms at the northern end of the prison when he jumped a fence.
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It is not the first escape from the area. On October 5, 2018, minimum security inmate Mark Tazelaar absconded from the demountables area. He was serving time for mainly traffic offences.
Police located him two days later at Seven Hills two days later.
There were also two escapes from the complex in late 2015, including maximum-security inmate Stephen Jamieson who used a hacksaw blade, a pillow, bed sheets and a mop handle to abscond.
Wennekes was serving a three-year sentence for domestic violence realted offences. His earliest release date was March, 2023.
Corrective Services is assisting NSW Police.
Thursday 3.50pm
Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a minimum-security inmate who escaped from a correctional facility at Goulburn today.
Ryan Wennekes, aged 29, escaped from the facility about 1.30pm on Thursday, June `15.
He is described as being Caucasian in appearance, about 180cm tall with a thin build, fair complexion and brown hair.
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He was last seen near the Old Mulwaree Bridge, Goulburn.
Police are urging anyone with information on his whereabouts to come forward.
Police are warning members of the public not to approach the man, but to instead call Triple Zero (000) immediately.
Saint Joseph's and Goulburn North Public School went into lockdown on Tuesday afternoon as a result, The Post has been informed.
