Local News

Authorities find man who walked off into the woods from Norfolk prison

Kevin O'Brien, 72, was placed into custody around 6:45 p.m., police said. Authorities said they charged him with escaping from a correctional facility.

Officials said Kevin O'Brien, 72, walked off the grounds of Pondville Correctional Center on Tuesday morning. Photos courtesy of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections

By Eva Levin

October 1, 2024

2 minutes to read

Authorities have found Kevin O’Brien, who “walked away” from a Norfolk prison early Tuesday morning, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections said.

UPDATE: Individual located
Kevin O’Brien was located and placed into custody by DOC investigators in Foxborough this evening around 6:45 p.m. DOC investigators have filed a charge of escape from a correctional facility against O’Brien in Wrentham District Court. https://t.co/BSMg24weN3
— MA Corrections (@MACorrections) October 1, 2024

In the statement, the DOC thanked state and local law enforcement who helped bring O’Brien into custody.

He was placed into custody around 6:45 p.m., police said. Authorities said they charged him with escaping from a correctional facility. Court documents show this new charge could potentially add two years to his sentence, which he had already served two years of.

Read the original story below.

Officials are searching for a 72-year-old incarcerated man who, they said, walked out of a Norfolk correctional facility on Tuesday morning.

Kevin O’Brien was last seen on the grounds of Pondville Correctional Center in Norfolk around 9:30 on Tuesday morning, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections said in a social media post. When officials conducted a routine check around 11 a.m., the DOC said, O’Brien did not return to his quarters.

The Massachusetts Department of Correction is actively searching for Kevin O’Brien, a 72-year-old incarcerated individual who is housed at the Pondville Correctional Center in Norfolk, Massachusetts. pic.twitter.com/f5ycRisCQy
— MA Corrections (@MACorrections) October 1, 2024

Video recovered by the DOC showed O’Brian leaving the minimum security facility’s outdoor area and walking into woods nearby around 10 a.m., the post said. Footage shows O’Brian wearing a blue windbreaker, a blue hat, a gray crew neck sweater, blue jeans, and white shoes. He was also wearing black glasses and over-the-ear headphones.

The post said O’Brien is 5’7”, 160 pounds and has blue eyes and white, balding hair. Police said members of the public should not approach O’Brien if they see him.

O’Brien is serving a sentence for motor vehicle theft, the post said.

The DOC said local police departments, along with Massachusetts State Police, are involved in the search efforts. Investigators from the DOC, K-9 units, and police drones are also searching for O’Brien, the post said. DOC investigators did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the current state of the investigation.