A local man with a history of drugs and weapons remains on the loose after walking away from a work detail in Clay County.

The man, Travis Eric Patterson, 29, is wanted for felony escape after he was last seen working in a landfill in Clay County Wednesday. He was being held there as a state prisoner who was serving time out of DeKalb County. He is described as a white male, six feet tall and weighing about 170 pounds. He has blue eyes and black hair and may be in the company of Jamie Christensen. She is female with short red hair and hazel eyes. They may be traveling in a champagne-colored Nissan. Anyone encountering the pair is not to approach them but instead should call dispatch at 615-215-3000 to have an officer sent to the area.

Lawmen say Patterson has been known to possession guns even though he is prohibited from owning a weapon due to his status as a felon. Officers found a cache of weapons when they raided his residence this past November to take him into custody on a drug indictment. He was due to appear in court here on April 8 to answer to the narcotics charges from that raid. He was serving a four-year sentence for violation of probation when he escaped Wednesday.

His most recent charges maintain he was in possession of meth, Xanax along with six weapons when officers executed a surprise raid on his home. The raid, led by SWAT team members who had to force their way into his home this past November came after he was caught in an undercover drug sting earlier last year.

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