UPDATE: Search Called Off for 2 Prisoners Escaping Near Fryman Canyon Park

A search was called off and traffic resumed at about 5 p.m. along Coldwater Canyon Boulevard near Mulholland Drive where two prisoners were reported to have escaped from a supervised work detail crew near  in the hills near Studio City and Hollywood early this afternoon.

The two escapees were believed to have fled south from the area of 8401 Mulholland Drive and into a Hollywood Hills residential neighborhood.

Cars were being stopped near the intersection of Coldwater Canyon Drive and Mulholland Drive, according to information heard over the police scanner. LAPD units from the North Hollywood and Hollywood divisions are involved in the search, as are air and K-9 units.

The first escapee is described as a Hispanic male, 19 years old, 126 pounds, with curly shoulder-length hair and wearing jeans, a green T-shirt and an orange helmet, according to Lt. Andy Neiman of the LAPD Media Relations Division. He was also said to have been convicted of 2nd degree robbery and use of a handgun, according to information broadcast over the LAPD's police scanner frequency.

The second escapee's age is not yet available but he was described as a Hispanic male, short hair, six feet tall, 187 lbs. and also dressed in a helmet, green T-shirt and jeans. An LAPD dispatcher said he was also serving time for robbery convictions.

According to Neiman, the two were under the supervision of Ventura County officials, likely the sheriff's department, and were on a special work detail.

The first escapee was reported to the LAPD North Hollywood Division around 2:22 p.m. at Fryman Canyon Park, but officers over the scanner said the escape actually occurred around 1:40 p.m. and wasn't reported right way. It wasn't until around 2:45 p.m. that the second escapee was reported to the LAPD because "the personnel here made a wrong count," an officer was heard saying.

Traffic was delayed along Coldwater Canyon for a bit, but as the normal Friday rush hour traffic piled up, police determined that the prisoners were long gone.  (It was on Fridays both times when the blocked the Fryman Canyon area and when a Elementary, and both times it took hours for traffic to get somewhat back to normal.)

Richard French of the Los Angeles Police Department told City News Service, "It was two prisoners from a Ventura County facility on a work detail, so whoever was supervising them wasn't doing a very good job. They reported it to us and now we're trying to locate them.''

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