An Inmate on Work Assignment Stole an ODOT Work Truck and Escaped Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Custody

Scott Smith, a Portland resident, is the second man to escape MCSO custody in less than a week.

Road construction in Shady Cove, Oregon. (ODOT)
By Katie Shepherd

A 25-year-old man assigned to a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office work crew stole an Oregon Department of Transportation truck and escaped custody in Northeast Portland around noon on Thursday.

Scott Smith, a Portland resident, is the second man to escape sheriff's custody in less than a week, after a 29-year-old inmate at Inverness jail hid in ceiling ducts for hours last week.

The ODOT work truck had been left unlocked and running while the crew cleaned a green space on NE Hancock Drive.

Deputies found the truck a short distance away from the work site, but Smith is still missing.

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