Manhunt underway at Savannah-Hilton Head Airport for escaped Georgia inmate who slipped away from police

Police are conducting a manhunt near the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport after a criminal, who was being extradited, escaped police custody, Fox News Digital has learned.

Bulloch Count Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Joseph H. Baynes was in the process of being extradited to Dakota County, Minnesota, when he escaped police custody at the airport in Georgia at around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. 

Police said that “at some point” Baynes escaped police custody and disappeared.

In a statement, police said that Baynes is wanted on felony stalking charges in Dakota County. 

Baynes, who was in custody at the Bulloch County Jail, signed a waiver of extradition to return to Minnesota to answer to those charges, police said.

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The Georgia police department clarified that their department was not involved in the incident at the airport since they had turned Baynes over to officials from Minnesota at the time of his escape.

Authorities from the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol, Pooler Police Department, and the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office are searching in the woods near the airports main parking lot for the escapee.

Police say that this is an active investigation and a spokesperson from the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport confirmed that there have been no interruptions to airport operations.