A man convicted of murder used a prison-use cargo van to escape from Lansing Correctional Facility sometime Sunday, according to prison authorities.

John M. Manard, convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 for killing a Johnson County man during a car theft attempt, was found missing around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman Bill Miskell said.

There was no early indication of how Manard may have escaped.

“That’s an investigation at this point,” Miskell said.

Miskell said that prison authorities soon noticed a white Ford cargo van missing from the prison grounds.

“We have a reason to believe Manard may be in that van,” Miskell said.

The van is typically used to transport dogs from animal shelters, a program that has been at the prison for more than a year, Miskell said.

Manard

The program’s Web site, www.safeharborprisondogs.com, is emblazoned along the side of the van. It also has a personalized Kansas license plate that reads “SHDOGS.”

Just after 4:30, the prison issued a statewide alert that Manard was missing and contacted the highway patrol, Miskell said. As of Sunday night, law enforcement officials had not been able to locate Manard or the van.

Miskell said that Lansing authorities were following up on several leads but that they did not suspect that Manard would flee back toward the Kansas City area.

Manard, 27, is described as a white man with reddish hair, who stands about 6 feet 2 and weighs around 190 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call local law enforcement, or the prison at (913) 727-3235.