Inmate escapes from CROSSWAEH

TIFFIN --- An inmate escaped from CROSSWAEH, 3055 S SR 100, Tuesday afternoon. At about 12:11 p.m., it was reported to the Seneca County Sheriff's Office that Draven D. Warters, 20, of Mansfield, climbed a fence and headed west towards US 224. According to a press report, Warters was new to the facility and did not have permission to leave the facility. A Seneca County Sheriff's Deputy was asked to bring a drone to the area to look for Warters. The Sheriff's Department was then informed by a nearby business that it had video footage of the inmate entering a vehicle. Deputies were then able to confirm that the inmate left in a white van that was parked across at Seneca Motel, 919 E. US 224. They also made contact with Ontario Police Department informing Warters may be en route to an address in that area. Warters is described in the report as a: "5'10, 140-lb light-skinned Black man with short, close braids and tattoos on his neck and arms." He was last seen wearing a fuchsia hoodie and dark jeans. "He (Warters) apparently had a van waiting for him down the road and they drove off," Seneca County Chief Deputy Chuck Boyer told the A-T. "He is not dangerous, but he is considered a fugitive-at-large due to him leaving the facility." The A-T reached out to Oriana House's (which runs CROSSWAEH) Vice President of Correctional Programs Jason Varney. "He (Warters) is not considered dangerous," he said. "All CROSSWAEH participants are thoroughly screened." "This (an inmate escaping) is a very uncommon occurrence," Varney said. According to the Ashland Times-Gazette, Warters was apprehended in May of this year in Ashland where he was hiding out with three other fugitives. "He was wanted for violations of his probation with underlying weapons charges," Anne Murphy, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Marshals Service in Cleveland told the Times-Gazette at that time. The A-T was able to confirm that Warters was charged with assault and obstructing official business in Ontario in 2021, according to court records. He was also charged with improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle in 2021 in Richland County.