McNeil

POLKTON — Authorities are searching for a murder convict who escaped early Saturday from Brown Creek Correctional Institution in Anson County.

Kristopher Antonio McNeil, 29, was discovered missing just after midnight, N.C. Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Pamela Walker said. McNeil was incarcerated in the prison’s minimum-security unit and officials believe he escaped by scaling the fence.

McNeil was serving a 11-year to 14-year prison sentence on an October 2009 conviction of second-degree murder in Forsyth County. His projected release date was April 8, 2018.

State records show McNeil has previous convictions of possession of a firearm by a felon, assault on a public official, resisting an officer, breaking and entering vehicles, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a BB gun or rifle on educational property, all in Forsyth County.

McNeil has been incarcerated at Brown Correctional near Polkton since November 2010, when he was transferred from Pasquotank Correctional in Elizabeth City. Prison system records show McNeil has one infraction at the Anson County prison, listed as disobeying an order on Dec. 30, 2013.

Anyone who has seen McNeil or has knowledge of his whereabouts is asked to call local law enforcement or call Brown Creek Correctional Institution at 704-694-2622.