Inmate who escaped Ingham County Jail has history of fleeing

Early Friday morning, an inmate escaped from Ingham County Jail, the sheriff's office said.

Police say it was about 5:45 a.m. when a deputy at the jail noticed that Michael David McKerchie, 32, had escaped from his cell. The escape might have taken place closer to 5:30 a.m., police said.

McKerchie's escape came the morning after a hearing in the four-count felony case that landed him in jail: unlawful driving away, resisting or obstructing a police officer, reckless driving causing serious impairment, and failure to stop at the scene of a crash causing serious impairment.

He allegedly stole the vehicle from a Dunkin' Donuts in Okemos. McKerchie has been jailed since Sept. 21 and was being held on a $250,000 bond. Even if that bond were paid, he's on a hold out of Calhoun County, the sheriff's office said.

"Details surrounding the escape are being investigated (and) because of the integrity regarding security of the facility certain details will not be released at this time," the sheriff's office said in a statement. 

Deputies, investigators and other Ingham County law enforcement are searching for McKerchie, and ask anyone who sees him to call 911.

Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth declined further comment, citing the "integrity of the investigation" and the ongoing need to run a jail.

McKerchie was sentenced to one-to-10 years for second-degree fleeing a police officer after taking a plea 2009 deal in Kent County, records show.

His past includes fleeing a juvenile facility in Washtenaw County in 2006, third-degree fleeing the police in Kent County in 2007, and tampering with an electronic monitoring device in Allegan County in 2015 according to Michigan Department of Corrections records.

He was released from the prison system in January 2019.