Natasha Kaufmann, 29, escaped custody Sunday afternoon while being admitted to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, according to the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office. Oxford County Sheriff’s Office photo
NORWAY — Deputies from the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement officers were still searching Sunday evening for a prisoner who had escaped custody earlier in the day, according to officials.
A sheriff’s deputy had taken Natasha Kaufmann, 29, to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway for stomach pain, according to a statement Oxford County Chief Deputy James Urquhart released to the news media.
Kaufmann had been arrested earlier in Cumberland County on outstanding warrants and for bail violations and been brought to the Oxford County Jail in South Paris, according to Urquhart.
Kaufmann was not in restraints when she escaped at about 1:50 p.m. She was able to elude officers at the hospital emergency room and last seen running through the hospital parking lot toward Main Street in Norway, Urquhart said.
The Norway and Paris Police departments, Maine State Police and Maine Warden Service were assisting in the search. Urquhart said his department also had a trained dog tracking Kaufmann.
Kaufmann is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall and about 120 pounds. She has brown hair and hazel eyes, and was last seen wearing a white floral shirt, black yoga pants and a black jacket. She is believed to be pregnant, Urquhart said.
Oxford County Sheriff Christopher Wainwright said Sunday afternoon Kaufmann was not in restraints at the hospital because of a state law stipulating restraints cannot be used on a prisoner or juvenile known to be pregnant.
Wainwright also said Kaufmann was neither thought to be armed nor considered dangerous.
Anyone with information should contact the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office (207-743-9554) or local police.
This story to be updated.
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