UPDATED: Missing RivCo Inmate Found After Hours-Long Search

BANNING, CA — An inmate at the Banning jail who was "unaccounted for" for several hours Wednesday afternoon has been located, officials say.

Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Vasquez tells Patch it was first noticed that the woman inmate wasn't around at 4 p.m. during a head count.

"And so a systematic search began," he said. "Some precautionary measures were taken."

Reverse 911 calls went out to the community, alerting area residents of the missing inmate. Both Banning and Beaumont police were also alerted, and helicopters were seen searching overhead Wednesday afternoon.

However, the search was primarily focused inside the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, as officials believed the woman was most likely in there somewhere. After four hours, officials learned their theory was correct.

"At around 8 o-clock, we did locate that female inmate here on the site of the jail facility," Vasquez said.

The woman is considered a "low-level" offender who is at the jail related to theft charges, according to Vasquez. She now faces possible additional charges, pending investigation of Wednesday's incident.

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