Michigan convict accidentally released in Warren Co., remains missing

LEBANON — A Michigan prison inmate who was transported to an Ohio court, but was mistakenly released, remained missing for nearly two months.

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Christopher Bibbs Jr., 21, was transported to a Warren County Jail from a Michigan Correctional Center on March 23, 2023, to face charges, the Michigan Corrections Department said.

While he was in Ohio, and after he attended court, an incorrect judgement was placed into his record stating, “defendant may now be released,” Major Brett Richardson, administrator of the Warren County Jail, informed.

The mistake was further exacerbated by a lack of language informing Warren County officials that he would need to be returned to Michigan to serve the minimum four-year sentence for a carjacking in May 2022, Richardson continued.

Once he was released, “a series of efforts were undertaken to locate Bibbs, including working with his family. The department is now seeking the public’s help in locating him,” Chris Gautz, a spokesperson for the Michigan Corrections Department, said.

Gautz acknowledged that Bibbs’ disappearance was not publicized when it happened in March because “sometimes they just turn themselves in.” However, after two months of his disappearance, authorities are finally requesting aid from the public.

Bibbs was thought to have traveled back to Detroit, according to the Michigan Corrections Department.

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