UPDATE: Tipton offender found, hospitalized after walking away from state fair work site

UPDATE: 

Shannon Dewayne Watts, a Tipton Correctional Center inmate who walked away from his work site at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia after completing his work-release job late Sunday night, has been apprehended.

At 11:20 p.m. Monday, Pettis County dispatch reported Watts had been found unconscious with apparent head injuries near Route B between Sedalia and Green Ridge. He was transported by helicopter to an area hospital, where he currently is being treated.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

A minimum-security inmate from the Tipton Correctional Center who was on a work release assignment walked away from the work site early Monday at the Missouri State Fair.

At approximately 12:45 a.m. Monday, Aug. 19, Shannon Dewayne Watts, a minimum-security inmate assigned to Tipton Correctional Center, was reported missing from the work site at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia.

According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, the Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT) was activated and assisted local law enforcement and the Missouri State Highway Patrol in a search of the fairgrounds, concluding at 6:15 a.m. Monday. The Department of Corrections reports that Watts was not found on the fairgrounds. Local law enforcement and the Missouri State Highway Patrol continue to work with the Department of Corrections to apprehend the offender.

Watts, a 34-year-old white male, is 6 feet tall and weighs 195 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. The Department of Corrections is asking Missourians to contact local law enforcement or the Missouri State Highway Patrol if they see Watts.

Watts is serving a sentence for second-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree burglary, three counts of forgery, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of resisting arrest, two counts of tampering with a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm, and leaving the scene of an accident in Greene County, as well as two counts of resisting arrest in Taney County.

Sunday was the final day of the 11-day Missouri State Fair. All year, teams of minimum-security work-release offenders perform maintenance and other work under close supervision at the fairgrounds, according to the Department of Corrections. Larger teams are tapped during the fair to help with setup, cleanup, groundskeeping and other duties.