Corrections officials seek escaped Lansing inmate

An inmate convicted of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor escaped Sunday from a work crew at the Lansing Correctional Facility, about 34 miles northeast of Lawrence.

Billy Wiles, 24, was serving a five-year sentence from a conviction in Mitchell County, in north-central Kansas.

He had been on a minimum custody prison work crew outside the perimeter of the prison and received permission from his supervisor to use the restroom, according to prison spokesman Kyle Deere.

After a few minutes, the supervisor became concerned, went to investigate and found Wiles had fled, Deere said.

Wiles is white, 5 feet 11 inches and 150 pounds with a light complexion, sandy hair, hazel eyes and a light build.

Authorities were asking that anyone seeing someone resembling Wiles to notify local law enforcement or the Lansing prison at (913)727-3235.

County: Driver’s condition serious after Highway 59 wreck

A 19-year-old Shawnee man was in serious condition Sunday after an early-morning, one-vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 59 near Lawrence, authorities said.

Blane Christenson was taken by air ambulance to Kansas University Medical Center after authorities were dispatched to the scene at 1:55 a.m.

Christenson had been northbound on U.S. 59 four miles south of Lawrence near the Pleasant Grove area when he lost control of his 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup, left the road and crashed into a grove of trees, Douglas County Sheriff’s Lt. Kathy Tate said.

Investigators have not determined the cause of the accident.

State: Former KDOT official dies

Joseph Bernard McCourt of Lawrence, a former state highway official who helped Douglas County through some major road projects, has died. He was 90.

McCourt came to Lawrence in 1950 and was appointed resident engineer for the Kansas Department of Transportation in 1969, a position he held until his retirement in 1977.

During his tenure with the highway agency, McCourt worked on numerous projects, including reconstruction from the 1951 flood, new construction on U.S. Highway 59 and re-routing Kansas Highway 10.