(NewsNation) — A convicted child rapist is on the loose after he escaped from an Arkansas prison Friday while out on a work detail.
Samuel Hartman has been in prison since 2013 serving a life sentence for the rape of a 9-year-old child. Authorities say the 38-year-old and an accomplice fired shots at a correctional officer while in a field on work detail and may have used jet skis to cross states lines into Tunica, Mississippi.
Arkansas State Police said a farmer found the two abandoned jet skis on a boat ramp in Mississippi, as well as a cellphone and a set of keys.
The Arkansas Department of Corrections has named Hartman’s mother Linda White and his sister Misty Hartman as persons of interest.
Law enforcement officials say there is also a third person involved.
Authorities searched the mobile home of Hartman’s mother and sister Friday, even pulling down an entire wall after getting a tip that Hartman and the two may be hiding there.
Authorities have warned people in the area to be on alert, saying all three may be armed and dangerous. Police believe Hartman may be traveling in a white 2021 Chevrolet Z-71 trail boss truck with an Arkansas license plate or no tags at all.