Portland Man Escapes Clark County Jail

A Portland man walked out of Clark County Jail Thursday morning,

The sheriff's office says that Michael Dionate Johnson had switched identities with another inmate who was scheduled to be released today.

"I can't comment on the manner in which Johnson switched identities with the other inmate," Undersheriff Mike Cooke said.

"I can say, however, that this escape required prior planning and the active cooperation of the second inmate."

Johnson's escape was not discovered until hours later during a meal and headcount.

They believe he had walked out of jail at 8:30 a.m..

Johnson, who had been convicted of kidnapping and assault in Arizona, had been transported to Clark County to face trial on charges including harassment, assault, and intimidating a witness.

The sheriff's office says they are about six weeks away from implementing a biometric screening tool that would have prevented such an escape.

The system will gather fingerprints when inmates are booked and compare them to ones taken when they are released.