OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) – Oshkosh P-D is on the lookout for a prisoner who escaped from the Winnebago Correctional Center in Oshkosh Sunday.
28-year-old Dennis Tharp is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and officials say he was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt, a gray stocking cap, and dark colored pants.
Police believe Tharp is with a woman and has ties to the Milwaukee area.
Tharp is serving time in prison for drug and weapons charges.
Officer Joe Nichols notes “he was scheduled to go to a 12-week program, whether it be for corrections or for drugs. Once he completed that 12-week course, he would have been released.”
That likely would have meant Tharp would be released by the end of September.
According to Nichols, the fleeing incident will likely trigger a clause that keeps him behind bars until 2019.
“The staff from the correctional center reported the escape at 6:38 p.m. to Oshkosh police. No one was injured in the incident,” a press release stated.
Nichols says “the detective is still investigating how he actually escaped. I don’t know if we’ll get an answer with that immediately.”
Nichols notes resources we’re immediately dedicated to tracking Tharp down.
“The Oshkosh Police Department, multiple units. We had the K-9 unit from the Omro Police Department assist in a track. I believe Winnebago County Sheriff was out in the area as well.”
The officer says inmates have fled Winnebago Correctional in the past.
“The last one, I believe, was in 2015. We had two that walked away. They were eventually captured, maybe a month later.”
Officials do not believe Tharp is a threat to the public, but if you see him or know where he is, do not approach him and call law enforcement.
If you have any information on Tharp’s whereabouts, you’re asked to call Oshkosh police at 920-236-5700.
If you want to remain anonymous, contact the Winnebago County Crime Stoppers at 920- 231-8477 or text IGOTYA and your tip to 274637.
