Northland police have joined in the search for escaped prisoner Aaron Forden, having put him in cuffs just four months ago after a lengthy manhunt.
Forden, 30, has known contacts in Northland and was arrested in June after getting into a fight in a Kaitaia bar. He was wanted for allegedly ramming police patrol vehicles, burgling homes and stealing cars at the time.
He then escaped from Whangarei District Court just days later and was on the run until police caught him in Auckland on Rugby World Cup opening night, allegedly while he was breaking into cars.
Forden - known as Houdini for his numerous disappearing acts, including a 2008 escape from the old Mt Eden Prison - became the first person to break out of the new Mt Eden Corrections Facility yesterday.
Northland police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said a team of Whangarei police officers had been assigned to look for Forden, and all staff had been told to be on the lookout for the slippery criminal.