Area law enforcement agencies are assisting with the search for a man who escaped from the Porter County Jail’s sally port late Monday morning.
Michael Maldonado, 25, of Portage, reportedly escaped from custody around 11:40 a.m., according to the sheriff’s department.
Maldonado was being brought to the jail by Portage Police Department officers when he escaped from the sally port, said Sgt. Jamie Erow, public information officer for the Porter County Sheriff’s Department.
According to Portage Police Chief Troy Williams, Maldonado was charged with resisting law enforcement, resisting law enforcement with injury and possession of a hypodermic needle.
Maldonado was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and sweatpants, no shoes and was handcuffed. He is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, 165 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen in the area of Pratt Industries on Division Road in Valparaiso.
Officers with the sheriff’s department and the Valparaiso and Portage police departments, as well as the Lake County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, were searching the area.
Anyone who sees Maldonado is asked to call Porter County Dispatch immediately at 911.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
