Mar 7, 2016 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – The inmate who failed to return to Greene County jail Sunday night after a “medical furlough” was permitted to leave the facility for dental surgery in Washington County.

Matthew Luke Bartimus was scheduled for an 11 a.m. appointment at Three Rivers Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery office in North Strabane Township, state police said, when the staff received a call that car problems would force him to cancel the appointment.

He left the jail at 9:30 a.m. Sunday and was expected to return later that afternoon, police said. Jail staff notified state police at 5:30 p.m. Bartimus had not returned and troopers charged him with felony escape.

It was the fifth dentist appointment Bartimus scheduled in the past six weeks while serving his jail sentence.

Bartimus, 42, of Bethesda, Ohio, was serving 11 ½ to 23 ½ months in the county jail after pleading guilty Dec. 21 to theft and trespassing charges for stealing more than $100,000 in drilling equipment from two CNX well sites in August. He was scheduled to be released in September with good behavior.

He was first allowed to leave the jail Jan. 27 for a routine visit and cleaning at Family Dental Practice in Morrisville under an order signed by Greene County Judge Louis Dayich.

More extensive dental work was required, however, prompting Bartimus’ public defender Patrick Fitch to write in a Feb. 1 email to Greene County jail Warden Harry Gillispie his client would need to leave the jail for subsequent appointments that included dental reconstruction. Dayich’s follow-up order allowed Bartimus to leave the jail again Feb. 3 for an emergency appointment at Family Dental to have a tooth removed.

Both times he was driven to the dentist by Melissa Barr of Waynesburg, who is described as a friend in court documents. It was not known if Bartimus was traveling with Barr for Sunday’s appointment.

Gillispie granted a follow-up appointment at Family Dental Feb. 9, but Bartimus was transferred to Three Rivers Oral, which is located about 33 miles north of the jail, for a Feb. 26 appointment.

Gillispie said the medical furlough program is similar to the work release sentences that allow inmates to leave the jail during the day to continue working their jobs.

“There were no red flags waving and no reason to think he wouldn’t return upon completion,” Gillispie said. “Do we let one bad apple spoil the bunch? I don’t think so. This guy was a low-level inmate and had no issues at the prison.”

State police Sgt. Steven Dowlin said they were interviewing multiple people while trying to locate Bartimus, but he did not say if they had spoken to Barr or if she was considered a suspect. He also would not say if investigators thought Bartimus was in the area or might be in his hometown in Ohio.

“Anybody that is hindering the apprehension will be charged appropriately,” Dowlin said.

Anyone with information on Bartimus’ location should contact state police in Waynesburg at 724-627-6151.