CLIFTON, TN – The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is searching for a Clifton, Tennessee prison escapee, who authorities say may be in the Memphis area.
Stephen Allen Hester, 26, was added to the Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, after he walked away from a Wayne County prison about 150 miles east of Memphis. Hester was serving an eight-year sentence at the jail for aggravated robbery he committed in Memphis earlier this year. He was discovered missing at around 9:30 p.m. on December 26, 2009, during a headcount.
Officers later discovered that Hester made his getaway, after abducting a woman and stealing her car at a store in Clifton, Tennessee. He released the kidnapped woman at a Walmart in Savannah, Tennessee, but he kept the victim’s car. Investigators say he may be headed to the Memphis area.
Police describe Hester as a white male with brown hair and blue eyes. He is approximately 5’9” and weighs 230 pounds. Hester has tattoos on both arms and his right calf. Investigators say he may be driving a silver 2005 Chevy Malibu with Tennessee tags, 575 TQT.
Hester’s criminal history includes burglary, drug possession, driving on a suspended license and writing bad checks.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Stephen Allen Hester is asked to call the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations at 1-800-TBI-FIND. A $1000.00 reward goes to anyone with information leading to his arrest.
