Police on Friday are searching for a man who escaped from the minimum security unit at the Monroe Correctional Complex.
Patrick Lester Clay, 59, broke into an office during maintenance cleaning and stole the keys to a staff member’s car. He then drove off, the Washington State Department of Corrections said in a news release Friday morning.
The department said Clay was last seen in a white GMC Sierra truck with plate number C39525X.
Clay was last seen wearing khaki pants, khaki jacket and khaki beanie with white tennis shoes and a yellow Department of Corrections vest. But the department said he may now be wearing a blue-gray zip-up sweatshirt and black ball cap which were in the truck.
Clay was convicted of burglary, malicious mischief, harassment and theft. He was due to be released Dec. 24, 2025, according to the release.
Court records show Clay in 2006 was convicted of escape in the first and second degree in Yakima County.
Anyone who saw the car or Clay should call 911 or Monroe Correctional Complex at 360-794-2720, police said.