The search is on for inmate Mason Jenkins of Chatham, unaccounted for during a Thursday morning count at the minimum-security Collins Bay Institution, Kingston police say.
According to the Correctional Service of Canada, staff doing a formal count at 11:15 a.m. discovered Jenkins, 49, was not accounted for.
He is described as a white male, five-foot-nine, approximately 255 pounds with a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair, which is currently shaved bald.
Jenkins was last seen wearing a light green jacket, blue jeans and rubber boots.
Jenkins is currently serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and trafficking.
Chatham-Kent police issued a release Friday morning that it continues to monitor developments related to Jenkins’ escape.
“Given Mason Jenkins’ connections to the Chatham-Kent area, the Chatham-Kent Police Service has taken appropriate precautionary measures and is working with partner agencies to support of the investigations,” said police in the release.
“The safety of our residents remains our top priority and we are committed to taking all reasonable steps to support public safety while assisting our policing partners in their efforts to located and apprehend the individual,” police added.
Police said residents are encouraged to remain vigilant and noted timely updates will be provided as they become available.
Anyone with information related to Jenkins’ escape is asked to contact Sgt. Paul Brophy at 519-436-6600 ext. 80619, police said.
When sentenced in a Chatham court on Jan. 12, 2001, Jenkins denied killing his sister, Jennifer. The 18-year-old, described as a kind, vivacious Chatham Collegiate Institute student with good grades and many friends, was shot five times in the head and chest in her own family room on Jan. 6, 1998.
Mason Jenkins, who was found guilty of murdering his sister Jennifer, is seen leaving court on Jan. 12, 2001. POHTO File
The case garnered a great deal of attention when the complex trial began on Oct. 4, 2000.
A mistrial was narrowly averted when defence lawyer Clay Powell quit while Jenkins was on the stand. He left the case on Nov. 24, because he was in danger of deceiving the court if he continued after receiving information from Jenkins.
Powell made his application to quit the day after Jenkins said on the stand that a previous lawyer had advised him to lie on the stand about possessing and firing the murder weapon.
By the time the trial had ended, Jenkins was on his fifth lawyer.
Testimony heard during the trial revealed Jenkins took a cab to the former Golden Tap a few hours after his sister died.
Jenkins later fled Chatham on horseback and was seen by several people who testified at the trial. Witnesses saw him riding the horse along the railroad tracks beside Taylor Avenue as well as crossing the Black Bridge over the Thames River.
He was later seen on the railway tracks across from Maple Leaf Cemetery in Chatham.
Jenkins was found by Chatham-Kent police sleeping in the back of stolen Bronco truck near Blenheim the morning after his sister’s body was discovered.
Court heard testimony from police officers on the scene that Jenkins claimed to have a bomb and would use it, causing officers to seek cover.
It was later discovered to be a Sonic Boom firecracker.
Mason Jenkins, in handcuffs and shackles, is flanked by two unidentified Correctional Service Canada armed guards as he walks toward a Chatham funeral home in 2013 to pay his respects to his paternal grandmother prior to her funeral. Jenkins, who is serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder of his sister in 1998, was granted an escorted temporary absence by the Parole Board of Canada for compassionate reasons. (File Photo/Chatham Daily News)
In a videotaped interview with police after being arrested that was played for the jury, Jenkins told a bizarre tale of four thugs who stormed the family home and abducted him on Jan. 6, 1998, allegedly killing his sister in the wake.
In 2010, Jenkins and parents Brian and Leslie were featured in a documentary Life with Murder that told the story of his parents’ love for him after the loss they suffered at his hand.
Anyone with information pertaining to Jenkins’ whereabouts is asked to contact Kingston Police at 613-549-4660, ext. 0.
Officials have also advised people to not approach Jenkins if you see him. Instead call 9-1-1 immediately.
With files from Maegen Kulchar, Kingston Whig-Standard
Ellwood Shreve has worked as a reporter in the community since 1993, joining The Chatham News in 2002, covering a wide range of stories. He can be reached at eshreve@postmedia.com.
eshreve@postmedia.com