Bucks Co. Inmate On Work-Release Furlough Goes Missing, Arrest Warrant Issued

DOYLESTOWN, PA — An arrest warrant has been issued for a Bucks County inmate who failed to return to the Bucks County Correctional facility earlier this month while on a temporary work-release furlough from the prison.

Harlist Harak, 52, of Bemsalem, left the Doylestown Township prison on Sept. 16 around 2:30 p.m. to report to a job at a Doylestown fast-food restaurant under the county's work release program, according to court records.

When Harak didn't return to the prison, staff reached out to the restaurant, which told them that he never came to work and was never scheduled to work on that day, court records say.

Harak, who was sentenced in April to 6 to 23 months in jail for retail theft and failing to provide officers with proper identification, is now being sought by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office on a felony charge of escape from official detention.

An arrest warrant is also out for another inmate, Kristy Lynn Lowmiller of Philadelphia, who also took advantage of the work release program to escape from prison. She is also being sought on a felony charge of escape.

According to court records, Lowmiller failed to return from her work release shift at a Doylestown bar and restaurant on August 1. The restaurant's staff told corrections officers that she collected her pay and then left the business.

According to the Bucks County website, the work release program enables inmates classified as minimum custody to work in the community to pay restitution, court costs and fines, child support payments, and other debts. All employed inmates are also required to pay a specified percentage of each pay for room and board at the prison. The inmate is also allocated sufficient funds for travel expenses during the week.

Escapes through the prison's work-release program are rare, with only two being reported since 2018 in Bucks County, according to state records.