SCOTTSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) -- Authorities in Scottsburg are questioning why it took several days to alert the public after a 72-year-old convicted murderer went missing.
Indiana State Police issued a Silver Alert Monday for Roger Caldwell, who was last seen around 8:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12, in Scottsburg. The alert said Caldwell could be in "extreme danger."
Caldwell was convicted of murdering Andy Campbell, a groundskeeper at a Boy Scout camp in Charlestown, Indiana, in 1996. He was found guilty but mentally ill.
Scott County Sheriff Jerry Goodin said he was just released in February to the Oxford House, which is a sober living home in a residential area of Scottsburg.
"Why was that person placed in this addiction home?" Goodin asked. "Why were they not placed into a mental health facility where they can keep track of him every day, where they can know what's going on?"
The Indiana Department of Correction, which oversees parolees, placed Caldwell in the sober living home following nearly 30 years in prison. The Department of Correction issued a 'be on the lookout' alert to law enforcement for Caldwell on Tuesday, four days after he went missing, identifying him as a fugitive.
Pictured: the Oxford House, a sober living halfway house in Scottsburg, Ind., where Roger Caldwell was staying before he went missing. (WDRB image)
Goodin is concerned about why the alert took so long.
"We're not saying this guy is going to go out and do something," Good said. "That's not what we're saying, but the fact of the matter is he has done something, and the public has the right to know these things."
Caldwell is described as a 6-foot-2-inch, 221-pound white man with gray hair and blue eyes. ISP said he was last seen wearing a gray shirt and blue pants.
Authorities said they do not currently know Caldwell’s whereabouts and are urging anyone who sees him to stay away and call police.
"Obviously, we know that he's been dangerous in the past," Goodin said. "So, I tell people do not take any chances."
If you have information on Caldwell's whereabouts, call 911 or the Scottsburg Police Department at 812-752-4462.
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