UPDATE: Jailed Man Escapes Custody, Headed Towards Annapolis Mall

Updated (4:45 p.m.)—The search for an escaped inmate continued at 4:45 p.m., four hours after he was noticed as missing from a work detail in the Generals Highway area.

A man charged with armed robbery has escaped custody and was last seen running toward Generals Highway in the direction of Westfield Annapolis mall.

Anne Arundel County police are asking the public to call 911 if they see the man, identified as 33-year-old Elwood Veney. 

Anne Arundel County police spokesman T.J. Smith said Veney walked off from a work detail in Annapolis with the State Highway Administration. No one was injured in the escape, Smith said.

Veney was last seen wearing blue jeans with no pockets, a blue scrub-type shirt with a grey sweatshirt. He is approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 189 pounds. Veney has tattoos on his arm, chest neck and his name on his right arm.

Veney has been charged with robbery with a deadly weapon and firearm possession. He is serving a five-year sentence with no chance for parole. He was scheduled for release in 2017.

Rolling Knolls Elementary, which is located off Generals Highway, has been placed under a "modified secure the building," according to Anne Arundel County school system spokeswoman Maneka Monk.

Under this directive, school faculty will closely monitor who comes in and out of the building, and they will keep all children inside.