Update Friday 9pm:
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Police have still not found the escaped inmate, Mark Tazelaar.
The search along Goulburn’s Wollondilly River and Mulwaree Ponds with the dog squad wound up shortly after 6pm.
Polair also finished its search at about 5pm.
Police are checking locations in Narellan, Campbelltown, Rooty Hill, and Blaxland where they believe Tazelaar is headed. However local officers remain alert to the possibility the escapee may still be in Goulburn.
People are advised not to approach Tazelaar if they see him and to to contact police immediately.
Update Friday 6pm:
Police are concentrating part of their search around the Wollondilly River near Goulburn Jail.
Officers are scaling the riverbank with sniffer dogs.
Detective Acting Inspector Matt Packham said a number of Sydney commands had also been made aware of Tazelaar’s escape.
Update Friday 4:50pm:
Police have advised that the escaped inmate is 37-year-old Mark Tazelaar.
They confirmed he was a minimum security inmate who was working in the demountables area when he escaped.
He was last seen wearing a green jumper and green pants.
It’s believed he may be heading towards the Narellan, Campbelltown, Rooty Hill, and Blaxland areas.
PolAir has returned to Bankstown due to fading light but officers are undertaking an expansive ground search with dogs.
Police are warning members of the public not to approach the man, but to instead call Triple Zero (000) immediately.
The escape follows a number from the facility including Stephen Jamieson in August, 2015 and Beau Wiles the following September.
Friday 4pm:
Police are on the hunt for an inmate who escaped from Goulburn Jail on Friday afternoon.
Detective Acting Inspector Matt Packham said police were advised of the escape at 1.30pm but it was not known exactly time he absconded. Nor did he know how he escaped.
Officers are looking around the facility, Kenmore, the wastewater treatment plant, Murrays Flat and the Wollondilly River, among other places. A police helicopter has also been deployed.
Detective Acting Inspector Packham said the inmate was not regarded as dangerous and was serving time for traffic and fraud offences. He is believed to be headed to Sydney, where he’s from.
He is aged 37 and described as Caucasian, having short, light brown curly hair, medium build, is 180cm tall and wearing prison greens. The man is not regarded as dangerous.
“(But) police warn members of the public to stay away from him and to call us immediately if he is sighted,” Detective Acting Inspector Packham said.
Corrective Services confirmed he escaped from minimum security. A spokeswoman declined to give further detail, saying it was now a police investigation.
