Huntsville Forester

MUSKOKA - Police are scouring the region for an inmate who disappeared from a Gravenhurst prison over the Thanksgiving long weekend.

Staff at the Beaver Creek minimum security prison discovered 35-year-old Christopher Zach was missing during a head count shortly before noon on Thanksgiving Day, Monday October 8. The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) immediately contacted the Bracebridge OPP, and a warrant has been issued for Zach’s arrest.

Zach is described as 5’10 in height and 181 pounds in weight, with brown eyes and brown hair. He is currently serving a two-year, nine-month sentence for firearms-related offences.

“The CSC and Beaver Creek Institution will be conducting a joint investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, and are working with the Bracebridge police service to locate this offender as quickly as possible,” said Pam Gray, assistant warden management services at Beaver Creek.

Anyone with information on Zach’s whereabouts is asked to contact police.

News of the escape comes nearly a year after another inmate escaped from the Beaver Creek prison over the Christmas long weekend. The convict in that case was recaptured in Barrie a few days later on January 3.