LAKE FOREST : Prisoner Escapes Musick Branch Jail

Authorities are looking for a 23-year-old transient who broke out of the James A. Musick Branch Jail sometime around 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Sheriff’s investigators are investigating how Edward Pimental Rios escaped from the minimum-security facility. Rios, who was serving a 120-day sentence for narcotics and paraphernalia possession, is not considered dangerous, said a sheriff’s spokesman.

A fugitive team has been assigned to the case, but police say they have no clues to Rios’ whereabouts. Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Richard J. Olson said that Rios is a Mexican national and “past experience tells me he may have fled to Mexico.”

Rios was arrested for possession of cocaine by Santa Ana police in December, court records show. He was to be released April 8, Olson said.

“It’s a pretty amazing thing. We’ve had several people bolt from prison just a week or two before they were due to be released,” Olson said. “Sometimes it’s because a family member is sick or they can’t wait to see their girlfriend.

“It’s unfortunate because through the courts, if a family member is very sick an inmate can have temporary release as long as he’s not a danger to the public.”