By
The Associated Press
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - A convicted sex offender escaped from San Quentin State Prison before dawn yesterday, apparently using a blanket and gloves to scale a fence topped with razor wire, authorities said.
Eduardo Mariscal was in his bunk at the 1 a.m. head count, but was missing when guards made another count two hours later, prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon said.
"It doesn't look like he had any assistance from inside," Crittendon said.
Mariscal, 31, was housed in a medium-security dormitory-style cellblock, bunking with hundreds of other inmates, when somehow he managed to walk out of the building unnoticed, Crittendon said. About 200 feet away, near a perimeter fence that is 14 feet high and topped with razor wire, authorities found a pair of gloves and a blanket.
Authorities believe Mariscal threw the blanket over the razor wire before scaling the fence.
Mariscal was sentenced in May 1994 for sex crimes involving minors. He had a tentative release date of July 2001.
The prison, which opened in 1852, is California's oldest and houses its death row. It was designed to hold nearly 3,300 inmates but currently houses 5,850.
In the small cluster of homes next to the prison, a handful of prison officials went door-to-door to tell residents about the escape.
"We want them to know that this community is safe," Crittendon said. "We know he's not here."
Crittendon did not immediately know how many prisoners have escaped from San Quentin or exactly when the last one took place, except that it was at least three years ago.
