Michael Stephen Powell walked out on a five-month jail sentence last week and now could face up to 15 more years if he's captured.

Powell was serving the sentence on a family court arrest order last Wednesday when he walked away from his landscaping work detail at Historic Brattonsville. Powell reportedly asked his supervisor for a bathroom break around 9:45 that morning and never came back. Officers began looking for him about 10 minutes after he disappeared, according to York County jail officials.

"He could be charged with escape," Assistant Solicitor Dan Hall said.

Escape is a felony that carries up to 15 years if convicted, Hall said. He was not familiar with the case that resulted in Powell's sentence because the Solicitors Office is not usually involved in family court matters.

Both Hall and jail officials said escapes from work details are rare, two or three a year out of the hundreds of inmates that perform the work. Most people on those work details have a sentence of 90 days or less, and none of them are deemed to be violent offenders or risks to the community, Hall said.

"There's not necessarily a guard standing over them with a gun," he said.

Powell was still missing as of Monday evening. His last known address is 131 Friendfield Drive in Fort Mill. In 2001, according to court records Powell pled guilty on two forgery charges and was given a one year suspended sentence and one year of probation.

In 2006 he also pled guilty to several charges including a banking crime, two charges of conspiracy and two charges of breach of trust.

He was sentenced to time served plus a five year suspended sentence and five years of probation.