A convicted pedophile on supervised release in northwestern Minnesota is on the loose, and state corrections officials are turning to the public for help finding him.
Jonah J. Hawkins, 26, has been unaccounted for since June 27, having last been seen leaving his home in Halstad, the state Department of Corrections said Wednesday.
Hawkins is a Level 3 predatory offender, putting him in a classification that ranks him as the most likely to reoffend.
The agency waited a month before alerting the public to Hawkins being on the run because "our investigators have a process they work through that usually turns these offenders up quickly," said corrections spokeswoman Sarah Fitzgerald. "At this point, we are looking for fresh leads."
Fitzgerald said Hawkins was originally on electronic monitoring when he came out of prison, but he was past that part of his supervision when he fled.
Hawkins' criminal history includes sexual contact in Cass County, N.D., with a 3-year-old girl he was familiar with, and he has admitted to similar conduct with other girls.
Hawkins was released from prison in April 2015 and put under intensive supervised release with the Department of Corrections.
Hawkins is described as white, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 137 pounds, with black hair and blue eyes. The agency said he may have traveled to North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Florida or Arizona.
Anyone with information about Hawkins' whereabouts is encouraged to call 911 or the Department of Corrections fugitive hot line at 651-603-0026.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
