Local News In Brief : Convict Walks Away From Saugus Camp

Aconvicted burglar escaped early Thursday from a minimum-security correctional facility near Saugus, a spokesman for the institution said.

James Cruz, 23, escaped from the San Francisquito Conservation Camp after stuffing clothing under his bedding to make it look like a sleeping person, Lt. Earl Farar said. Cruz had been a prisoner at the 88-inmate camp about a month, Farar said.

The minimum-security facility has no fences.

Farar said police in Whittier, Downey and the Echo Park area of Los Angeles had been notified of Cruz’s escape because the convict was known to have friends and relatives in those areas.