Escaped inmates could be heading north - police

Police are hunting Wayne Holmes and Jessie Ibell. Photo / supplied

A pair of inmates who escaped in a stolen car as Corrections staff searched for them in the grounds of Waikeria Prison could be fleeing to the far north, police say.

Jessie Lee Ibell, 24, and Wayne Holmes, 23, escaped from their cells in the prison near Te Awamutu early yesterday morning.

Corrections said it believed the escapees were hiding in the prison grounds, but police later confirmed they had fled in a stolen car.

Ibell and Holmes abandoned the car in Kerepehi in the Hauraki Plains at about midday yesterday.

Detective Sergeant Ross Patterson said investigators had found no evidence suggesting the pair had separated.

They were conducting enquiries with people who had seen them in the Hauraki Plains, he said.

"At the same time we are liaising with our counterparts in Northland around the possibility both men may be heading to the Far North region."

Mr Patterson said the men had extensive criminal histories and should not be approached.

Corrections prison services central regional manager Terry Buffery said the department was working closely with police to recapture the prisoners.

"Public safety is our number one priority and the circumstances of the prisoners' escape are being reviewed.

"The full details of the incident are not yet known and will not be known until they have been recaptured and the review of the escape has been completed.''

The escape happened in a unit due to be closed in April next year.

Both men were described as thinly built Caucasians about 1.7m tall.

He called for public help finding the pair and said anyone who recognised them should ring 111 immediately.

- HERALD ONLINE