Police call Big Isle prison
escapees dangerous

Big Island police are on the lookout for two prison escapees who climbed out of a skylight Tuesday night using bedsheets tied together.

Kyle Quilausing: Police say he led them on a high-speed chase and is "desperate"

Kyle Keola Quilausing, 31, and Ludy L. Lazo, 37, were last seen running down Wainuinui Road in Hilo sometime after 11:30 p.m. Hawaii Community Correctional Center officials said the pair is believed to have climbed up 18 feet using tied bedsheets, scaled down from a rooftop to an unfenced area on prison grounds and then run across a stream to freedom.

Police described both men as dangerous and said Quilausing is a "desperate individual."

"He was very difficult to apprehend for these string of auto thefts that he was responsible for," said Lt. Randall Medeiros, of the East Hawaii Criminal Investigation Division. "We do have an APB (all-points bulletin) out for them, and every police officer on duty is aware of them and knows what they look like."

Prison officials said both men were being held in an "overflow" area of the building and not in cells because of overcrowding at the facility. Acting Warden Pete MacDonald said that at the time of the escape, the guards were distracted by an inmate who was in the process of making bail.

"We can't triple-bunk the inmates," MacDonald said. "They were not violent criminals, and they haven't gone to trial yet, so as much as possible we put those ones in a lower-custody level."

Ludy Lazo: He had been facing drug and contempt-of-court charges prior to escape

MacDonald said there was blood found on the makeshift bedsheet rope; he believes at least one of the inmates might have hurt himself during the escape. He said from the roof the escapees used the bedsheet again to lower themselves to an area of the prison grounds, which was not enclosed by a fence, and then ran off.

Police started an immediate search of the area surrounding the facility but were unable to locate the inmates. Yesterday, police sent detectives into neighborhoods to try and gather information about the two escapees before concentrating efforts on any one area.

Lazo was awaiting trial on drug and contempt-of-court charges.

West Hawaii police officials said Quilausing is well known to them after being arrested in April in connection with numerous auto thefts and leading police on a high-speed chase.

Police said he is a suspect in more than 30 auto theft cases in a three- to four-month period.

"And that's a conservative estimate," said Hawaii County police Capt. Robert Hickox. "We're disappointed he got out of the facility, because we put a lot of time into those cases."

"We're anticipating more cases because of this," he said.

Quilausing is described as being 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing about 145 pounds and having short black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and dark-colored pants.

Lazo is described as being 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds and having black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and dark-colored shorts.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of either of the men is asked to call officer Robert Pule of the South Hilo Patrol at 961-2213 or the police non-emergency number at 935-3311.