The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office is finally acknowledging the “escaped inmate” that we’d been asking about from last week, and that they actually had deputies combing the area for the guy all weekend as they were ignoring our request for information, though the matter of why they stiffed us on the request for information as all of that was going on is being left untouched.
We first learned about the issue with the escapee on Sunday because a reader alerted us to a notification that she had gotten through the county emergency notification system on Friday night.
That notification:
The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for an escaped inmate that was working on work release at the SAW animal shelter in Verona. The individual is a white male, 5’7, 180 pounds, bald with brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a long sleeve gray shirt, khakis, a white hat, sneakers and has several tattoos. He was last seen today at 4:08 p.m. If subject is seen, contact 9-1-1. It is unknown if he is armed or dangerous. Use caution and do not approach the subject.
We reached out to the sheriff, Donald Smith, and to Leslie Snyder, the administrative lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Office who handles media inquiries for Smith, on Sunday morning, to try to track down the latest.
We heard nothing back, so we went public with what we knew, which wasn’t much, on Sunday night.
On Monday morning, Snyder emailed us to tell us to reach out to tell us that we would “need to contact the Virginia Department of Corrections in Greenville for any updates.”
That email from Snyder was sent to us at 9:41 a.m. Monday; coincidentally, our email to her was timestamped 9:42 a.m. Sunday.
We tried the DOC, and have not heard back as of yet.
The Sheriff’s Office hit send on a release to its full media list at 12:37 p.m. Monday to tell all of us what has been going on the past three days.
Here’s that release:
Charles Lee Able. Photo: Augusta County Sheriff’s Office
On Friday, September 25, 2026, at approximately 5:20 p.m., the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a probationer who had left his assigned work site at the Staunton, Augusta, Waynesboro Animal Shelter without authorization.
The individual has been identified as Charles Lee Able, 44, of Burkeville, Virginia.
Mr. Able is classified as a probationer, not an inmate, by the Virginia Department of Corrections. He does not have a violent criminal history.
Following the report, Augusta County deputies conducted searches throughout the Verona area Friday evening and continued efforts throughout the weekend in an attempt to locate Able. He has not been located and is currently wanted for a probation violation.
Mr. Able was in the custody and supervision of the Virginia Department of Corrections at the time of the incident. Any additional information regarding his probation status or this incident should be directed to the Virginia Department of Corrections.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Charles Lee Able is asked to contact the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.
I will quibble with the person who wrote the release on the point about our Charles Lee Able, 44, of Burkeville not having a “violent criminal history.”
A review of the Virginia online court system database lists his most recent court activity as dating to February of this year, for a hearing on a separate charge involving a probation violation, which led to the probation being revoked.
His lengthy court history includes a run of drug possession, assault and battery, larceny and fraud charges.
He’s no doubt long gone from these parts, but even so, if you see the guy, tread lightly.
I’m not going to be overly critical here, after the Virginia offense was, again, underwhelming, putting up less than 300 yards for the third straight game, this week leading to a 23-13 loss at #24 SMU.
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