A B.C. man convicted of second-degree murder and who escaped a Mission, B.C. prison last year is now the subject of a national manhunt and a $50,000 reward.
John Norman MacKenzie had been serving a life sentence since 1982, and was transferred to Mission Corrections Institution in August 2018.
The 59-year-old was discovered missing during a headcount in the prison’s minimum security unit on Aug. 7, 2018, police said.
Mackenzie, who was also convicted of armed robbery and other offences, has been hunted ever since on charges of being unlawfully at large.
Mission RCMP are still investigating how MacKenzie escaped the prison, but believe he may have fled Canada and be at large internationally.
Although he was determined to be a “low-key” inmate, police say MacKenzie is “extremely intelligent and computer savvy” and has been known to carry fake identification documents including passports and driver’s licences.
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Investigators have now partnered with the Bolo Program, which uses social media along with traditional methods such as billboards and leaflets to broadcast the faces and details about wanted criminals across the country.
The program was used to put the word out about accused murderer Brandon Teixeira, who was captured in California this past December after a 14-month manhunt.
The Bolo Program says “up to $50,000” is being offered for anyone who has information that leads to MacKenzie’s arrest. The reward is being offered until July 8, 2020.
“The RCMP is committed to ongoing collaboration with our domestic and international partners, and are hopeful this new relationship with the Bolo Program will be the key in locating MacKenzie so he can be returned to Canada to answer to these charges,” said Cpl. Nathan Berze with Mission RCMP in a statement.
The Bolo Program says Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers is offering an additional $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
MacKenzie is described as Caucasian, 197 pounds and five-foot-eight, with blue eyes, brown hair and fair skin. He was last seen wearing jeans and a white T-shirt.
Anyone with information helpful to investigators is asked to contact Mission RCMP or Crime Stoppers.