Advertisement

Officials search for prisoner who escaped from Hernando County landfill

 
Joshua Holmes, 35, escaped while working at a Hernando landfill. [Hernando County Sheriff's Office]
Joshua Holmes, 35, escaped while working at a Hernando landfill. [Hernando County Sheriff's Office]
Published Aug. 16, 2017

BROOKSVILLE — An inmate has escaped from a Hernando County landfill where he and two other inmates were assigned to a work detail, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies are still searching for Joshua Holmes, 35, who they say left the Northwest Solid Waste Management Facility, located on Norris Bishop Loop, without permission about noon Wednesday, according to a press release by the agency.

Holmes, who was serving a sentence for grand theft auto, is said to have fled north on foot. Sheriff Al Nienhuis described the man as a white male, 5 feet 7 inches and 145 pounds, with balding brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing white and black striped inmate clothing, but could also be wearing brown boxer shorts, the sheriff said.

Three county schools — Parrott Middle, Weeki Wachee High and Winding Waters K8 — were placed on modified lockdown, which Hernando County School District spokesperson Karen Jordan described as "students don't leave class on passes and instruction continues." Students will also dismiss normally, she said.

Officials from Florida Department of Corrections, Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office are assisting in the search. Anyone with information about Holmes is asked to call 911 or Hernando County Crime Stoppers at 1-866-990-8477.