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LAPORTE COUNTY — It's still unclear how an inmate seemingly escaped without a trace Friday from the Westville Correctional Center.

Orville Morris, 35, of Marengo, was reportedly at the prison during a 10 a.m. inmate count at the facility, but was unaccounted for by 3:15 p.m. Friday during an emergency count of inmates, a Westville spokesman said in a news release issued at about 9 p.m. Friday.

Between the time Morris was last seen and when he was discovered to be missing, three semi-tractor trailers exited the prison grounds, according to the spokesman. The trailers were padlocked shut and headed toward Niles, Michigan. The Niles Police Department was notified to intercept them, but Morris — who had been assigned to work in the pallet shop that day where the trailers had been — was not found inside.

Having had no luck finding Morris in the trailers, authorities continued Friday night searching dozens of buildings on the prison grounds. There was no breach found in the electric fence surrounding the facility, a spokesman said.