LINCOLNVILLE – Perhaps feeling the tug of Christmas, a Maine State Prison inmate slipped away from a work detail on Route 1 on Friday afternoon, triggering a statewide search.

Area law enforcement issued an all-points bulletin for Walter G. Kelly, 40, of Lewiston after the 2 p.m. escape.

Kelly was an inmate at the minimum security Bolduc Correctional Facility, better known as the prison farm. Inmates there are considered low risk and often are assigned to work details away from the prison.

Kelly was working on a road crew near Viking Lumber Co. on Route 1 in Lincolnville Beach when he went missing. Officers from the Lincolnville Police Department began searching the area the moment they

were notified of the escape.

Prison Warden Jeffrey Merrill said Kelly was nearing the end of a four-year sentence for burglary and theft and was scheduled to be released next year. He said the state police were working on finding Kelly.

“He’s taken off somewhere, and we’re out looking for him,” Merrill said.

Kelly was described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall and bald with blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray sweat shirt, bluejeans and work boots. Kelly’s wife lives in Lewiston, and authorities there have been notified of the escape, Merrill said.

Merrill urged the public to use caution when approached by strangers and to contact the prison at 273-5300 if they come in contact with Kelly or learn of his whereabouts.