Visitors Pass May Have Helped Inmate Escape Philly Prison

By VINCE LATTANZIO, DAN STAMM and ASHA BEH

Updated 8:04 AM EST, Sat, Nov 28, 2009

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Philadelphia Police

A murder suspect who escaped from a Philadelphia prison on Thanksgiving allegedly did so after getting an unauthorized pass to the jail's visiting area.

Oscar Alvarado, 27, went missing from Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road in Northeast Philly around 6 p.m. Thanksgiving, police said.

He was last seen in the visitors' area in civilian clothes -- after having obtained an unauthorized pass allowing him access to that room Thursday afternoon and despite not having any visitors that day, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. According to reports from other inmates, Alvarado had been planning the jailbreak for about 10 days, prisons commissioner Louis Giorla told the Inquirer.

Inmates who go to the visitors' room often change into orange jumpsuits from their blue jail uniforms, the Inquirer reported. Instead, Giorla said, Alvarado changed into a light-colored T-shirt and dark pants.

More Details on Escaped Man

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More Details on Escaped Man

It is likely Alvarado had an accomplice, but it wasn't clear if that person was on the inside or outside, prison officials said.

Alvarado was in prison awaiting trial for the murder of 37-year old Marta Martinez-Lozada. He allegedly shot the woman during a robbery on Oct. 21, authorities said. She later died at Temple University Hospital.

Police described Alvarado as 5-foot 7-inches tall, weighing 160 pounds with a close haircut and several tattoos on his arms and back. He was last seen wearing black pants and a tan T-shirt.

This is the first escape from CFCF since it was built in 1995.

Authorities are asking anyone who sees the man to call 9-1-1.