A Convicted Murderer Has Escaped From A Kingston Prison & Police Say He's A 'Safety Risk'

He had been serving a second-degree murder sentence.

42-year-old convicted murderer Joshua Kenneth Kohl. Right: Collins Bay Federal Penitentiary.

42-year-old convicted murderer Joshua Kenneth Kohl. Right: Collins Bay Federal Penitentiary.

Editor

A man convicted of murder has escaped from a federal prison in Kingston, Ontario and police are warning that he could pose a safety risk to the public.

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has identified the man as 42-year-old Joshua Kenneth Kohl, who police say has been serving an "indeterminate sentence" at the Collins Bay Institution for a charge of second-degree murder.

According to an OPP release, Kohl was unaccounted for on the evening of May 16 and Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) staff immediately contacted the police Penitentiary Squad.

Police said the squad "is alerting people in the Kingston area, and elsewhere, to be on the lookout for an inmate who has escaped from the Collins Bay Institution."

The 42-year-old man is described as being 6' tall, 158 lbs, and has short brown hair with a receding hairline and blue eyes.

Police also noted that Kohl has a "pock-marked face," wears glasses, and has a tattoo on the right side of his neck.

According to the CSC, Kohl escaped from a "minimum-security unit" inside Collins Bay Institution, which is a multi-level correction facility located roughly six kilometres west of Kingston.

Since his escape, there has been no update on Kohl's whereabouts.

"CSC is continuing to investigate the circumstances related to the escape and is working with police to locate and apprehend this offender as quickly as possible," OPP said in a press release.

Police also advised that anyone with information on Kohl's whereabouts or anyone who sees him should not approach him, but instead contact OPP, Kingston Police, or Crimestoppers immediately.

  • Editor

    Stuart McGinn (he/him) was an Editor at Narcity Media. He spent nearly a decade working in radio broadcast journalism before joining the team, covering everything from breaking news to financial markets and sports. Since starting his career in his hometown of Ottawa after attending Algonquin College, Stuart has spent time working in our nation's capital, in Kitchener-Waterloo and in Toronto. If he's not out walking his dog Walter, there's a good chance he's running to train for his next marathon.

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