FAIRHOPE, Alabama (GCN)—A state inmate serving a 20-year sentence for robbery walked off a work-release detail in Fairhope last Thursday. He is currently at large and being sought by law enforcement agencies.

“We had one of our minimum-custody inmates that was working for the city of Fairhope being supervised by an employee of the city of Fairhope,” James DeLoach, associate commissioner with the Alabama Department of Corrections, told The Courier Friday. “He walked away from the work detail (Thursday) afternoon at 2:50 p.m. The escapee is identified as Demetie Smith. Description is: he’s a black male; date of birth is Dec. 13, 1975; he’s approximately 5 feet 8 inches, 165 pounds.”

He was serving a 20-year sentence out of Mobile County for first-degree robbery, which he began serving on June 30, 1998, DeLoach said.

The inmate, who was on a recycling-collection detail supervised by a public works employee, took a routine restroom break and walked away from the detail, according to a Fairhope police spokesman.

The employee immediately called it in, the spokesman said.

The public works department did not immediately respond to a request for comment by press time.

“Our people (DOC), the Fairhope Police Department, and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Alabama Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Marshall’s Service Fugitive Task Force, are involved in trying to get leads and apprehend inmate Smith,” DeLoach said. “If anyone should get any information concerning the escapee, or have any information on his location, they can contact the local law enforcement authorities (FPD or MCSO), or they can contact the Alabama Department of Corrections at (334) 567-2221.”