Multiple tipsters reported alarms sounding near Horten on Saturday evening. Prison staff confirmed activating emergency sirens during an evening headcount. Officials discovered one inmate was unaccounted for during routine checks.
Prison employees are now conducting repeated counts of all residents. They are evaluating which measures to implement next, according to staff statements.
Southeast Police District confirmed receiving notification about the missing prisoner. Authorities are handling the case as a search operation. Police maintain close dialogue with correctional services about the situation.
Erling Fæste, assistant regional director for correctional services, said all possibilities remain open. Officials do not consider the missing inmate dangerous to the public.
Bastøy Prison operates as Norway's largest low-security correctional facility. The institution has capacity for 115 male inmates. Located on Bastøy Island in Oslofjorden within Horten municipality, the prison primarily houses men nearing the end of longer sentences.
The island functions as a small community with approximately 80 buildings. Facilities include a shop, church, roads, beach areas, soccer field, forest and school. This unusual prison model focuses on rehabilitation through normalized living conditions.
Police have not provided additional comments about the ongoing search. The missing inmate case raises questions about security protocols at low-security facilities, even as officials emphasize the individual poses no public threat.