OGDEN — Police were looking for a Weber County Jail inmate who escaped custody while working at an animal shelter Friday morning.
A work crew from the jail began cleaning at the Weber County Animal Shelter, 1373 Fairgrounds Drive, around 9 a.m. Within the first hour, two crew members left the shelter without being noticed by supervising authorities and walked to a Harrisville neighborhood.
The two inmates were later identified as Samuel Peter Atchley, 46, and Joseph Wayne Cook, 27.
About 10 a.m., the two attempted to steal a bicycle in front of a residence on 1600 North. The homeowner confronted the inmates, and another resident observed the confrontation and contacted authorities.
Atchley and Cook fled, and the homeowner followed Atchley until Harrisville police were able to take him into custody. Cook was not located, and it is believed he made his way into Ogden.
As a precaution, Wahlquist Junior High and Pioneer Elementary schools initiated a lockout for about two hours while Weber County sheriff's deputies searched the area for Cook. Neither school was affected during the search.
Cook is described as white, 5 feet 9 inches tall and 145 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes.
Those with information on Cook's whereabouts are asked to contact the Weber Consolidated Dispatch Center at 801-629-8221.
— Morgan Jacobsen