Officials still seek 2005 escapee
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 6, 2010
A little more than five years after his escape from work-released custody, Charles Daniel Pierce remains at large.
Pierce, who was being held on a grand jury indictment for theft of property and receiving stolen property, was working as a “trusty” at the Anda-lusia Police Depart-ment on March 28, 2005, when he apparently walked off the site.
Star-News archives indicate Pierce was one of three work-release inmates or trusties assigned to the APD. He was last seen at approximately 6:30 p.m. washing a patrol car. He made his getaway in a city of Andalusia utility department truck.
Two days later, three inmates – Oscar Roy Doster, James D. Harnage and Darrell Ray Henry – escaped from the Covington County Jail.
Since that trio’s recapture, Pierce has become the county’s most wanted man.
In 2006, law enforcement got their first glimpse of the man since his escape when Florida law enforcement officers engaged him in a high-speed chase that led to the ultimate recover of the city utility department truck in Panama City, Fla.
Since then, reported sightings have occurred locally near his mother’s Ino community home, but he has avoided capture by law enforcement.
Pierce is described as standing approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing approximately 150 pounds. He has salt and pepper colored hair, blue eyes and was last seen with a full beard, but could have shaven or reduced his facial hair in an attempt to alter his physical appearance. He also has a heart-shaped tattoo on his right forearm with the name “Janet.” He is 57.
If apprehended, he would receive an extended jail sentence with additional charges of escape and receiving stolen property.
Local law enforcement is working in conjunction with the U.S. Marshals Service to apprehend Pierce.
Anyone with any information as to his whereabouts should contact the Andalusia Police Department (334) 222-1155, the Covington Sheriff’s Department at (334) 428-2640 or the U.S. Marshals in Montgomery at (334) 223-7401.