BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A man charged in the videotaped kidnapping of a lawyer last spring has escaped from prison, possibly with help, authorities said Friday.
Authorities were using tracking dogs and search teams to hunt for Dedrick Griham but said they did not know where he was headed.
Griham, 35, fled Staton prison in central Alabama's Elmore County on Thursday night by cutting through a fence, FBI agent Paul Daymond said.
It wasn't clear how long Griham had been out before guards learned of the escape. Griham may have had assistance, Daymond said.
Griham, who previously served time for robbery and theft, escaped a day after prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing him of federal kidnapping and carjacking charges in the May 31 abduction outside the lawyer's downtown home.
The federal charges, which carry a possible sentence of life imprisonment, came in addition to state charges of kidnapping, robbery, rape and sodomy.
The kidnapping was videotaped by a surveillance camera. Police rescued the woman from a motel nine hours later.
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