Search underway for inmate that walked off work detail
Editor’s Note: Mr. Madding was taken back into custody Thursday morning. See related story for updated information.
A search is underway for a Gibson County inmate that walked off a work detail in the Dyer area Wednesday afternoon.
Gibson Co. Sheriff Paul Thomas confirmed that David Curtis Madding, a trustee described as a 6 ft. 4 in. white male weighing 260 pounds, was on a litter crew working in the area of New Hope Road in Dyer when he walked away from the job site. Madding, 34, originally from Union City, was last seen wearing tan, jail-issued pants and a fluorescent green T-shirt.
Thomas said that Madding is serving time for theft and robbery and was being housed in Gibson Co. for the Obion Co. Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information on Madding’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Gibson Co. Sheriff’s Office dispatch at 731-692-3714, local authorities, or Crimestoppers at 731-424-TIPS. All information will remain anonymous.
“As the Sheriff of Gibson Co., I understand that with everything, not only here at the correctional complex, but in life there are risks and rewards,” Thomas said in a statement. “Having a trustee walk away from a work detail is a risk every correctional facility that utilizes trustees face. The reward is that this particular litter crew is solely responsible for picking up over 124,000 pounds of litter from Gibson Co. roads since January 1, 2018. There is no other litter crew responsible for the county roads, and if not for these trustees then it would continue to collect in our ditches and along our roads. Our trustees here at Gibson Co. serve multiple communities around Gibson Co. to help supplement their existing workforce. This labor comes at no cost to the cities using them, and if not for free labor, these towns would run the risk of either not getting the jobs done that needed to be completed, or raising their city taxes to hire additional staff. Our trustees mow county properties, work at wastewater treatment facilities, work at parks, and help numerous non-profits and churches in Gibson Co. Their labor is invaluable to those utilizing it and we will continue the trustee work program. Every day is an opportunity to learn something and when something like this happens you learn what areas need to be addressed to minimize the risk of it happening again.”
Thomas said that Madding was working with a Sheriff’s Office employee and other trustees when he left the job.
