Police searching for man who escaped from Blair County Prison through ventilation shaft
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) -- Police are looking for a man who escaped from the Blair County Prison through a ventilation shaft.
The Hollidaysburg Borough Police Department, located about two hours from Pittsburgh, posted a "BOLO" asking for help looking for escaped inmate Isaiah Robert Tilghman on Sunday.
Police said Tilghman was being housed at the Blair County Prison for drug-related violations and a state parole detainer.
According to court documents, Tilghman climbed through a ventilation shaft just outside his cell door, CBS affiliate WTAJ reported. He allegedly used jail clothing to make a rope, which he used to climb to a nearby platform. He then got outside through an unsecured window and onto the roof, WTAJ reported.
In an update on Tuesday, Hollidaysburg police said the Logan Township police had a report of a stolen vehicle on Monday. Surveillance video confirmed Tilghman stole the vehicle, described as a red/maroon Ford F-150 with a chrome strip across the bottom trim. The license plate is ZNR-9945, which police said Tilghman stole off another vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to immediately call 911, Hollidaysburg police at 814-695-3711 or the Logan police at 814-949-3364.
Across the state, there's also a manhunt underway for an inmate who escaped a Northeast Philadelphia correctional facility. Police said 34-year-old Gino Hagenkotter walked away from a supervised work program on Thursday. Hagenkotter climbed a fence and left the prison property after telling a security guard he had to use a bathroom, CBS Philadelphia reports.
There have been two other high-profile prison escapes in Pennsylvania this year. In July, homicide suspect Michael Burham used bedsheets to escape from the Warren County Jail in northern Pennsylvania, spurring a nine-day manhunt. With a $22,000 reward posted for his arrest, he was captured after a dog alerted a couple to his presence on their property.
Danelo Cavalcante, who is serving a life sentence for the stabbing death of his ex-girlfriend in 2021, escaped from the Chester County Prison in August and was on the run for almost two weeks before he was recaptured about 20 miles from the prison. He's now housed at SCI Greene in Waynesburg.
