UPDATE (June 6) -- Michael Diontae Johnson was captured by United States Marshals in Illinois, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
"I'm extemely grateful to the federal and local law enforcement officers, both here and in Illinois, who worked so hard to locate and apprehend Johnson," said Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins in a news release.
No additional information was immediately released.
Original story below.
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Authorities are searching for an inmate from the Clark County Jail who escaped Thursday morning after switching identities with another inmate.
Michael Diontae Johnson, 30, of Portland, escaped at about 8:30 a.m. He switched identities with another inmate who was scheduled to be released at that time, according to Sgt. Fred Neiman of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Johnson is a 5-foot-4, 140-pound African-American man, with black hair and brown eyes. People should not approach him and anyone who sees Johnson should immediately call 911.
A former classmate worries about what Johnson could do on the loose.
"This is not going to be some type of wave the white flag surrender incident. It's going to be a big messy mess," the classmate said. "It's not going to have an easy situation when it comes down to capturing him or where he does get captured. People are going to get hurt. I can almost guarantee it."
Johnson was in custody on charges of harassment, assault, intimidating a witness and bail jumping. He was previously convicted of kidnapping and assault in Arizona, Neiman said.
Workers learned Johnson had escaped during a scheduled meal and headcount a couple hours after he was released, Neiman said.
"I can't comment on the manner in which Johnson switched identities with the other inmate," Undersheriff Mike Cooke said. "I can say, however, that this escape required prior planning and the active cooperation of the second inmate."
The jail is in the process of setting up a biometric screening tool, according to jail chief Ric Bishop, but it won’t be operational for another six weeks. The screening tool will collect fingerprints when an inmate is booked into the jail and then will match the fingerprint when the inmate is released.
Detectives with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshal’s Service are searching for Johnson.