ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) -- An inmate fighting a wildfire has escaped and may seek revenge against his former girlfriend, authorities said.
Chadwick Shores, 32, pleaded guilty to coercion and burglary last year after he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a Eugene woman he had stalked for years. He was serving an almost four-year sentence at Snake River Correctional Facility in Ontario.
Shores, who is considered dangerous, escaped at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday. He was part of a 100-member prison crew working the Bland Mountain fire that has scorched thousands of acres southeast of Roseburg.
The crew is comprised of minimum-custody inmates who are within a few years of release and meet certain criteria, said Perrin Damon, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Among the prisoner's belongings were writings that indicated he blamed the victim and her family for his conviction and wanted revenge, authorities said.
The mother of his 34-year-old victim was notified of the escape by the state's victim information and notification service, known as VINE, which automatically calls victims and other interested people when a prisoner's status changes.
Court documents indicate Shores had been stalking the woman since they broke up in 2001. The woman received three separate yearlong restraining orders.
Last year, Shores broke into the woman's home and ambushed her when she entered. He held her captive for several hours. During those hours, he beat her, sexually assaulted her and threatened her life.
Shores fled in his underwear when a family friend knocked on the woman's door. Police captured Shores when he called his victim and asked her to bring him some clothes.
Shores is a white man with short brown hair and brown eyes. He stands 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds, and has a tattoo of a cross on his left shoulder. He was wearing blue denim jeans and a chambray shirt with the word ``inmate'' stenciled in orange.
