KEY POINTS:
Another prisoner has escaped from prison while on a working party.
Storm Bryce Hughes, 33, escaped from the Springhill Correctional Facility in Waikato this morning.
Police warn he has a violent history in Australia and should not be approached.
Senior Sergeant Pete Simpson said Hughes is a Caucasian, of medium build, 171cm tall with short blond hair and various tattoos on his arms and back. He said Hughes was wearing a blue denim jacket and a grey shirt and trousers.
"A minimum security inmate, Hughes was working as a member of a building restoration party outside the prison wire but within the prison's property when he escaped," Mr Simpson said.
He said a police dog was involved in the search and people living nearby had been warned to keep their cars locked.
"If you see anything suspicious in the area you should ring 111 immediately," said Mr Simpson.
He said Hughes had lived in Australia and Tokoroa and had links to the Turangi area.
Mr Simpson said police are working with border control agencies and corrections department to recapture him.
Hughes is the fourth prisoner to escape from custody so far this year.
Arai Hema, 30, classified as a low security risk, slipped away from a work party outside the perimeter fence of Auckland Prison at Paremoremo on January 21.
Hema was jailed for 12 years after a 1998 sex attack on a 17-year-old girl at her home.
He tried to stab her but she screamed, and Hema attacked the girl's 78-year-old neighbour as he came to her rescue.
In 2004 he attacked guards at Hawke's Bay Regional Prison, throwing boiling water over one and hitting another in the head with a shovel.
That attack earned him another four years in jail.
Another three prisoners escaped from a police van in Hamilton on January 19 when it stopped at traffic lights in Hamilton.
- NZHERALD STAFF
