California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are searching for an incarcerated man who walked away from a Male Community Reentry Program in San Diego.
Correction officials were alerted to the disappearance of Nick A. Lopez at about 2:40 p.m. Friday after he removed his GPS device, CDCR officials said. A search was immediately launched and corrections officials conducted an emergency count of the facility, confirming Lopez was missing.
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WATCH HERELopez is Latino, 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 250 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. Authorities say Lopez was last seen wearing black jeans and a black and white sweater/jacket.
Lopez was sentenced in 2023 to five years, four months for vehicle theft with prior vehicle-related theft conviction and possessing/owning a firearm by felon/addict -- both second-strike offenses — according to corrections authorities. He has been housed at MCRP-San Diego since March 4, 2025.
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SIGN UP CDCR's Office of Correctional Safety and local law enforcement agencies have been notified and are assisting in the search for Lopez.
Anyone who sees Lopez or knows of his whereabouts was asked to contact Special Agent Brian Hernandez at 619-666-5522, call 911 or contact any law enforcement agency.
The MCRP allows eligible offenders committed to state prison to serve the end of their sentences in the re-entry center and provides them with the programs and tools necessary to transition from custody to the community. It is a voluntary program for male offenders who have two years of less left to serve.
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Since 1977, 99% of the incarcerated people who have escaped or walked away from an adult institution, camp, in-state contract bed or Community Rehabilitative Program Placement have been apprehended, correction officials said.
