BATON ROUGE — A state prison inmate serving time for first-degree robbery escaped from a work-release van on Tuesday, triggering a search on the ground and from the sky.

Shawn Simien, 34, jumped from the van while he was on an assignment in East Baton Rouge Parish, law officers said. He had been taking part in a transitional work-release program ahead of his release in August 2025.

Dogs and deputies were on the ground searching for the inmate while a helicopter hovered overhead. The scene is near the St. Pius X Catholic Church on Hooper Road, just east of its intersection with Plank Road.