PEMBROKE — Lawmen continue to search for an escaped inmate who has been on the run since Wednesday morning.

“He’s fast,” said sheriff’s Maj. James Hunt of Herman Locklear. “He’s 52, but he runs like he’s 16.”

The St. Pauls Crime Stoppers is offering an award for an undisclosed amount to anyone with information that leads to Locklear’s capture. Call (910) 865-TIPS of the Sheriff’s Office H at (910) 671-3100. Sheriff Kenneth Sealey has said that Locklear, of 731 St. Anna Road, Pembroke, is not considered to be violent.

Hunt said that Locklear may be getting help from friends, but is most likely surviving this weeks wet and chilly weather using alleged skills that landed him in jail. Locklear was last seen in jail-issued orange jumpsuit but Hunt said Locklear has likely stolen clothes from outside lines. He said Locklear is probably stealing food and staying in vacant buildings, such as barns, abandoned homes or trailers.

“He’s a country fellow. He’s putting his all into this, but we are going to catch him,” Hunt said.

Locklear, who was in jail awaiting trial on charges of second-degree burglary and larceny, escaped Wednesday morning after removing shackles from his feet. Sealey said he fled as soon as he was unloaded from a sheriff’s van that was parked at a Pembroke court facility where he had a scheduled hearing. Sealey said how Locklear removed the shackles is being investigated.

An official driving the van and a deputy who was following behind in a sheriff’s car were the only two lawmen present when Locklear fled, according to Hunt. They chased Locklear from the court facility to Pine Street before Locklear disappeared into some woods.

Hunt said that there were seven other inmates in the van and investigators have been interviewing them.

Sheriff’s deputies, Highway Patrol troopers, Pembroke police, and state Department of Correction officers have been involved in the search, which is still focused in Pembroke, according to Hunt. The search has expanded from Third Street to the northern township area of Pembroke. The University of North Carolina of Pembroke campus police and the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearm Agency have assisted in the search.

He was last seen at 2 p.m. Wednesday on Seventh Street by residents who live there, but by the time deputies were informed and arrived, he had jumped a 5-foot-tall fence and disappeared into some woods.

Locklear has brown eyes, gray hair, is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and weighs about 170 pounds. He has a tattoo of a heart on his lower left arm and the name “Pansy” tattooed on his lower right arm.