Authorities searching for escaped prisoner in Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK (AP) – Authorities are searching for a convicted rapist who escaped from an Arkansas prison.

38-year-old Samuel Hartman escaped this morning from a prison located about 100 east of Little Rock.

An Arkansas Dept. of Corrections spokeswoman said Hartman escaped from a work detail on a field near the prison.

He and an accomplice who was not an employee or another inmate fired at officers.

Hartman is considered armed and dangerous. The department is working with local, state and federal law enforcement to follow up on leads.