Johnny Hall Jr., 30,  escaped from Mississippi Department of Corrections custody Friday afternoon while attending his father’s wake in Picayune.

According to an MDOC press release, Hall was in the custody of two Wilkinson County Correctional Facility officers at Picayune Funeral Home at the time of his escape at about 12:30  p.m.

As Hall was being escorted back to the prison transport vehicle, a woman known only as Gina Ray was waiting outside the funeral home, said Capt. Chad Dorn with the Picayune Police Department. Witnesses state that as Hall was being escorted by the officers, Ray appeared to be about to give Hall a goodbye hug when instead she shoved Hall into a black vehicle before getting into the driver’s seat and driving off. Dorn said the vehicle was a black Honda Accord.

The MDOC release states that Ray is white with blonde hair. Hall is described as a white male with brown eyes, blonde hair, 6 feet, three inches tall and weighing about 175 pounds. Hall was sentenced to 17 years in MDOC custody on three convictions for burglaries that occurred in Pearl River County.

The release asks anyone with information about Hall’s whereabouts to contact the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility at 601-888-3199, the MDOC at 662-745-6611 or local law enforcement officers.