Inmate who walked away from SW Ore. fire camp arrested

Oregon State Police said Medford police on Wednesday arrested an inmate who had walked away Sunday morning from a mobile fire camp at the Stouts Creek Fire near Canyonville.

Kenneth Curtis Polchowski was apprehended around 8:30 p.m., OSP said. They had no additional details.

The Warner Creek Correctional Facility inmate had been housed at the camp since July 31, the Oregon Department of Corrections said.

DOC staff discovered Polchowski missing around 6 a.m. Sunday after a routine count.

When they asked the public to help find the inmate, they described Polchowski as a 26-year-old Caucasian male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 180 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing blue jeans with the word “inmate” and the DOC logo stenciled on the knee in orange, and a blue t-shirt with the word “inmate” and the DOC logo stenciled in orange on the front and back.

Polchowski entered DOC custody on Jan. 29 , 2015, on four counts of identity theft, one count of theft in the first degree, and one count of burglary in the first degree out of Lane County. His earliest release date would have been October 6 , 2017.

WCCF is a minimum-security prison in Lakeview that houses about 486 male inmates who are within four year of release.

WCCF provides a range of correctional programs and services including education, transitional programs, religious services, and work opportunities crews. WCCF has a contact center on site through Oregon Corrections Enterprises.

WCCF opened in September 2005 and received the State Energy Efficiency Design (SEED) award in May 2008 for its progress in design efficiency. The most energy-efficient element at WCCF is the use of geothermal energy, providing 100 percent of the hot water to the facility.