Update: Chad Toups has been captured and is in custody.
Sheriff Gary Driskell announces that Chad Toups, 49, Morgan City, LA, is considered an escaped inmate after he walked off his assigned work release job at a business in the Berwick area this morning.
Toups was reported to St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center officials this morning by supervisors at his work release job. A bolo has been issued to all area law enforcement agencies and SMPSO detectives and patrol are searching for him at this time.
The Work Release Program is a structured initiative that allows eligible inmates, who have been approved by the Department of Corrections, to maintain employment outside the jail while serving their sentence. Participants are housed at the correctional facility before and after their work shifts.
Toups was incarcerated for the charges of theft, parole violation, and criminal trespass.
The public is advised to report any information on Chad Toup’s location or any sighting of him to the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office by calling dispatch at 337-828-1960.