Local and state law enforcement officers launched a massive early-morning hunt for a state prison inmate who escaped Sunday night from the Greenlee County Jail while awaiting trial for killing a Duncan man in August 2006.

Clifford Bea Fowler, 32, is considered "very dangerous," Greenlee County Sheriff Steve Tucker said. The sheriff said Fowler is a member of a state prison skinhead or white supremacist gang. He served prison time for the rape of an elderly woman in the 1990s. He was released from prison on probation when he allegedly killed Clay Gardner in an Aug. 5 hit-and-run near Duncan.

Fowler is awaiting trial in Greenlee County Superior Court on charges of manslaughter, hit-and-run involving a death and extreme DUI. He escaped shortly before midnight by kicking out a bullet-proof window in his cell in the jail's maximum security section. Tucker said kicking the window out took "an incredibly unusual effort." He said it was only the second time in the jail's 32-year history an escape had been made through a window. "Those are very strong windows. I can't believe he was able to kick it out," Tucker said. The window remained intact, but was separated from its frame.

Arizona Department of Corrections tracking dogs and an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter joined the hunt that began in the wee hours of Monday morning.

The DPS chopper flew low over the Little Colorado River, which is overgrown with dense foliage. Two tunnels are located along the section of track from Clifton to the byway and could provide a temporary hiding place. There is also an abandoned train tunnel near the river, below the Morenci corrals.

That is where the dogs came in. ADOC officers and their two teams of tracking dogs began searching for Fowler long before sunrise. A section of U.S. Hwy. 191 in Clifton was closed for more than an hour as trackers searched along the highway in the event Fowler was picked up by someone in a vehicle.

Tucker sent mug shots and a description of Fowler to various media outlets throughout the state. A profile mug shot shows an "SS" tattoo on the right side of Fowler's head. It was a symbol of the German Nazi Gestapo, which is often used by white supremacist and other white racist groups. Fowler also has a tattoo that says "White Supremacist" on his lower neck. A large part of his body is covered with tattoos, Tucker said.

"We consider him very dangerous," Tucker said. "He's looking at spending the rest of his life in prison and may feel he has nothing to lose."

Fowler was born and raised in the Clifton and Duncan area. Authorities said he began having brushes with the law as a teenager. Authorities suspect Fowler may be headed to Tucson where he has friends, but Tucker added, "He may be anywhere. He may have headed for New Mexico." The New Mexico state line is about 35 miles from Clifton.

The escapee may have also headed to Safford, 45 miles from Clifton, where he was found after the incident in which Gardner was killed.