Police in Kentucky are scrambling to locate a convicted kidnapper after the man was mistakenly released from jail.
Matthew Amos Burke, 35, was recently convicted of kidnapping a businessman and sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Burke was waiting to be transferred to prison last Friday when officials at Jefferson County Jail accidentally set him free.
The sheriff's office has not yet determined why Burke was released, but missing paperwork is reportedly to blame.
Burke was sentenced to 17 years in November after pleading guilty to charges of kidnapping, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to the plea agreement, on September 11, 2020, Burke broke into the victim's home, abducted him and transported back to Burke's home. Once there, the victim was forced to transfer $250,000 from his bank account into another bank account as directed by Burke. After $250,000 was transferred, Burke drove the victim back to his home and released him. The victim then contacted police.
Burke remains at large. He's described as 5'7" tall and 170 lbs. with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
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