A Louisiana prison escapee convicted of murdering a Minnesotan in 1987 was stopped by a police officer but let go because the officer thought the man didn't match the escapee's description.

A prison official said 47-year-old Richard Lee McNair escaped from the U-S Penitentiary at Pollock on Wednesday by hiding in a warehouse on the grounds and riding out in a mail van. A manhunt is ongoing in Louisiana.

McNair was serving a life sentence for killing trucker Jerome Theis, of Circle Pines, Minnesota, at a grain elevator in Minot, North Dakota in 1987.

He was stopped Wednesday by a Ball police Officer but was released after telling the officer he was doing roof work in the area and had been dropped off by a relative to jog.


****This news story had video of the officer talking to McNair, the officer NEVER ID'd the suspect in the video and it wasnt clear if he ever did...