Public Asked To Help Find Inmate Who Escaped Watsonville Prison

WATSONVILLE (CBS SF) -- An inmate at a minimum-security facility in Watsonville walked away and escaped the grounds Thursday morning and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's help finding him.

Patrick Collins, who had been in custody since July 14 on theft charges, walked away from the Santa Cruz County Rountree Medium Facility, at 90 Rountree Lane, at about 5:30 a.m., sheriff's officials said.

At the time of Collins' escape, he was performing scheduled duties on the grounds.

Collins, a transient, often frequents the Santa Cruz area, according to sheriff's officials.

He is described as a white male, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, 170 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. He has multiple tattoos, including two on his forehead that read "Skate" over his right eye and "Destroy" over his left eye.

Collins was scheduled for release in October.

Anyone with information about Collins' whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff's office at (831) 471-1121.