A prisoner potentially less than three weeks from being released on parole escaped from a South Jersey prison Tuesday morning.

Arthur W. Buckel, 39, with a last known address in Clifton, did not show up for a count of all the inmates at the Ancora unit of Bayside State Prison in Hammonton at 6 a.m. according to Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman.

Ancora is a minimum security facility not affiliated with the hospital of the same name. It is located on Spring Garden Road not far from the White Horse Pike (Route 30).

"By doing what he did theoretically he just added 3 to 5 years to his sentence," Schuman said, although a judge would have final say.

"There is a certain protocol is in place for when somebody escapes. Proper law enforcement and other notifications were made so there's a bunch of people looking for him," including a canine unit Schuman said.

Buckel, who has a job as a janitor, is considered to be dangerous because he escaped according to Schuman.

Buckel's record includes burglary, possession and aggravated assault dating back to 2014. He is described as a white male with brown hair and blue eyes standing 5 feet and 9 inches and weighing 180 pounds.

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM