BREAKING NEWS

A convicted murderer who was arrested in Laguna Beach in 1999 has escaped from Indiana State Prison and Laguna Beach police are on the alert for him.

Mark Booher was serving an 85-year sentence on murder and robbery charges. The crimes were committed in Indiana in January 1999, and in March 1999 he was tracked by federal marshalls to a home in Laguna Beach where he had been living, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jason Kravez said. He fled the home, and police brought in bloodhounds and helicopters to assist in the search. He eluded capture and two days later was taken into custody in the Laguna home to which he had fled, Kravez said.

Booher escaped the state prison July 12 through a network of underground tunnels with two other inmates, both of whom have been captured.

A resident of the Laguna Beach home where he was taken into custody in 1999 alerted police of the escape and asked for extra patrols, according to police logs.