DETROIT (WWJ) – Police in Detroit are on a manhunt for a convicted felon who escaped from an east side prison.

Prisoner Adrian Clay escaped around 7:20 a.m. Saturday from the Ryan Road Correctional Facility, located near McNichols Road and Conant Street just east of I-75.

Police Chief James Craig said 25-year-old Clay was working in a position of trust when he made a break for it.

“We believe right now, because he was a trustee, he had access to the less-secure part of the prison, and he was able to slip out at that point,” he said, adding that Clay performs janitorial-type work at the facility.

Craig said they are using all available resources to locate Clay.

“We’re canvasing the area. Certainly, we have our air support deployed right now, we’re checking with next of kin, we’re working with the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Michigan State Police,” he said.

Craig said they’ve received information from a witness who said Clay may have gotten into an older-model Chevy with the rear window broken out, near Mt. Elliot and Strong Street, just north of I-94.

Clay is described as an African American, about 5’6″ tall and 161 pounds. He was last seen wearing an all blue prison jumpsuit.

“He’s a dangerous suspect, someone we want to apprehend, so we want your listeners to call us if they spot him or see him, so we can safely bring him into custody,” Craig said.

Clay should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who thinks they see Clay or know of his whereabouts should immediately call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

Records show Clay was paroled earlier this month, on Dec. 12, after serving eight-and-a-half years of a maximum 15 year sentence for carjacking and weapons offenses. However, officials said he had not yet been released from custody.

According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, the 39-acre Ryan Road facility houses parolees who are required, as a specific condition of their parole, to participate in and satisfactorily complete reentry programming, as well as parole violators who are believed to have violated a condition of parole and are being considered for parole revocation proceedings or other appropriate action. The center also houses a small population of prisoners.

Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 and CBSDetroit.com for the latest.