Hunt Continues For Alabama Prison Escapee Possibly Spotted In Florida

July 25, 2011

The search is continuing for an Alabama prison escapee, and authorities say he may have been spotted in Santa Rosa County.

William Paul Riley, 38, was reported missing about 8:05 a.m. Monday  from a work crew in the area of Ridge Road in Brewton. It was later determined that Riley stole a red 1993 Nissan pickup with a distinctive white thunderbolt design on the side. The truck belonged to an employee who left the keys in the vehicle. According to an Alabama Department of Corrections news release, the tag number was 30AI7LS.  The tag number 30A17L5 was also provide to law enforcement.

Late Monday morning, a resident reported seeing a man matching Riley’s description near Jay or Milton, but the information was sketchy.

Riley is a white male, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing 175 pounds, with brown eyes and blonde hair. He was seen in a white prison jumpsuit wearing an orange traffic vest.

His last known address before being incarcerated was in Orange Beach, Alabama, and authorities believe he may be headed to Orange Beach or Pensacola.

He was serving a 15-year prison sentence for theft and dealing stolen property at the Atmore Community Work Center near the Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore. Riley was convicted on the charges in Jefferson County, Alabama (the Birmingham area). He was due to be released in March 2015 and set for a possible parole hearing in March 2013.

Anyone with information is asked to call their local law enforcement agency or 911.

Comments

29 Responses to “Hunt Continues For Alabama Prison Escapee Possibly Spotted In Florida”

  1. David Huie Green on July 26th, 2011 4:58 pm

    REGARDING:
    “To David: I was talking about the owner of the truck not the inmate!!”

    My apologies. I didn’t follow the note stream back far enough or closely enough. I also get used to folks defending the criminals and attacking the victims.

    David hoping the owner of the truck gets it back unharmed

  2. know what you are talking about on July 26th, 2011 3:02 pm

    To David: I was talking about the owner of the truck not the inmate!!

  3. MIke P on July 26th, 2011 1:28 pm

    To David: He was talking about the employee and owner of the truck, not the escapee, just fyi. It happens to me all the time, lol…

  4. David Huie Green on July 26th, 2011 12:05 pm

    REGARDING:
    “ I know this man personally he would do anything for anybody”

    Would he let people keep their personal property and never steal their pickups? Was he falsely accused of doing so? falsely convicted of doing so?

    David wondering
    and learning about good people

  5. tired of it on July 26th, 2011 11:02 am

    To : know what you are talking about… Put your shoes on and go back outside and play,stop pouting on the computer there’s better things to be doing outside.

  6. know what you are talking about on July 26th, 2011 10:07 am

    To wife of retired doc if you knew the true story it didnt happen in it Atmore it happened in Brewton at the County workshop where there are locked gates. Get the facts straight. I know this man personally he would do anything for anybody. You need to get the story staight before making stupid UNTRUE comments!!

  7. wife of retired DOC employee on July 26th, 2011 9:47 am

    TO: “know what u are talking about”~”1st of all the whole story is not coming out. It was not a correctional officer it was a county employee. 2 HIs vehicle was behind a locked gate where it is designiated for EMPLOYEES ONLY!!! The mans truck who got stolen is one of the most generous giving men that i know. Some people need to stop talking crap and get the facts first.”

    1 ~ U are right it was a COUNTY EMPLOYEE that checked out the inmate.
    2 ~ COUNTY EMPLOYEES DO NOT drive their personal vehicles to the Atmore Community Work Center (their personal vehicles can not be parked on the property). They drive a COUNTY vehicle to the Atmore Community Work Center from whatever office/facility they work out of to check out the inmate(s). (BTW, Atmore Community Work Center does not have a locked fenced parking lot(as u make it out to be) for ANYONE to park their personal vehicle)
    YES, the employee was a very giving and generous man. He left his keys in the truck. Did he also leave a full tank of gas & extra cash. Now that would be VERY GIVING AND GENEROUS.
    ALSO, THE DOC DOES NOT PUT OUT THE WHOLE STORY ANYWAY. THEY HAVE ALOT OF SECRETS.

  8. know what u are talking about on July 26th, 2011 8:45 am

    1st of all the whole story is not coming out. It was not a correctional officer it was a county employee. 2 HIs vehicle was behind a locked gate where it is designiated for EMPLOYEES ONLY!!! The mans truck who got stolen is one of the most generous giving men that i know. Some people need to stop talking crap and get the facts first.

  9. William on July 26th, 2011 7:57 am

    >>The picture shows that he has green eyes not brown!!

    The picture and the description are both from the Alabama Dept. of Corrections. The prison says he has brown eyes.

  10. Peopleamuseme on July 26th, 2011 7:54 am

    Riley is a white male, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing 175 pounds, with brown eyes and blonde hair. He was seen in a white prison jumpsuit wearing an orange traffic vest.
    The picture shows that he has green eyes not brown!!

  11. Oversight on July 26th, 2011 6:30 am

    “The truck belonged to an employee who left the keys in the vehicle.”

    Ok, tell us more; an employee of the department of corrections? If this is the case, then the “employee” should be terminated.

  12. crazy on July 25th, 2011 8:32 pm

    Haha yea he needs to try the lottery.

  13. ProudArmyParent on July 25th, 2011 7:51 pm

    Just a year and a half left, he is either wanted somewhere else or he heard how bad the economy is!

  14. thoughts on July 25th, 2011 5:28 pm

    How lucky is he? He needs to play the lottery. Breaks out and finds a vehicle with keys in it!

  15. CW on July 25th, 2011 3:46 pm

    Wow, only a year and a half to go, he sure ruined that for himself.

  16. Bjay on July 25th, 2011 3:26 pm

    Im wondering what happened. This man had a 15 year sentence and was eligible for parole in a year and a half. He had the finish line in sight.

  17. Try this on July 25th, 2011 3:07 pm

    To the mom who posted at 1:39 p.m.:

    I forward articles all the time. Just highlight and copy the browser address, then go to your email and paste it into the body.

    Voila. The recipient merely clicks within the email you send and it takes them right to the specific artlcle of interest.

  18. William on July 25th, 2011 1:44 pm

    Story updated and photo added at 1:30 p.m. after the mugshot was released to law enforcement.

  19. mom on July 25th, 2011 1:39 pm

    would be nice if there was an email button at the bottom of each article to be able to forward these articles. I’d like to send it to my daughter and it won’t let me copy and paste it

  20. dgh on July 25th, 2011 1:35 pm

    Why do they nearly always head south? And sometimes captured at a bridge, so lets see where this one gets nabbed.

  21. apryl on July 25th, 2011 1:09 pm

    Im sure he has changed clothes by now
    Plz post picture for public saftey

  22. Angie on July 25th, 2011 12:33 pm

    He was from Atmore Work Center, he will be wearing white buttonup shirt and white pants.

  23. OldMarine on July 25th, 2011 11:00 am

    very true a picture would help but NorthEscambia.com is first with news many times. can’t show what you don’t have

  24. Me on July 25th, 2011 10:40 am

    We isn’t incarcerated at Fountain , he was housed at Atmore Work Release, which wear “street clothes” not the white prison uniform

  25. me on July 25th, 2011 10:28 am

    Fountian prison wear white scrub like pants and a white collared shirt writing on left side pocket and on the back of shirt their pants writing on back pocket

  26. Molino-Anon on July 25th, 2011 10:06 am

    I’ve checked every data base I know of for a mugshot, found nothing. Checked other news sites and not a mention of the escape. I’m so glad other news agencies are on top of this /end sarcasm.

  27. Resident on July 25th, 2011 10:01 am

    William,
    I am assuming he would still be in his prison jumpsuit, do you know what color their work crews wear? I know Esc Co Fla wears orange but some other facilities wear the black & white stripes. Any idea what color we are looking for?
    Thanks!

  28. William on July 25th, 2011 9:34 am

    >>>Where is the pic of him??? If he was an inmate..put the “mugshot” up..we need to know what he looks like!

    The Alabama Dept of Corrections has not released his mugshot yet; they don’t put inmate mugshots on their website. You have to wait for them to release one once it’s requested. One would think they would have sometime in a full hour made it available to the media and law enforcement, but nothing yet.

    (I’ve also checked the area jails to see if he has ever been in one with a mug, but have not found him yet.)

  29. mary on July 25th, 2011 9:32 am

    Where is the pic of him??? If he was an inmate..put the “mugshot” up..we need to know what he looks like!