Manhunt as The Hawk takes flight

May 22 2009 by Andrew Welsh, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

RESIDENTS in Kinross were yesterday assisting police in the search for a dangerous fugitive.

Hardened criminal Brian Martin (51), also known as The Hawk, sparked a nationwide manhunt when he fled from Perthshire’s Castle Huntly open prison on Monday afternoon.

Martin was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment at Edinburgh High Court on April 5, 2006, for firearms offences carried out while he was on licence from a 12-year prison sentence for assault and robbery and separate gun crimes.

Martin was in Shotts Prison before being transferred to the much-criticised Longforgan jail on April 27.

Officers are concentrating their enquiries on the Kinross area and various parts of Fife, where The Hawk is known to have friends and family, but his details have also been sent to all UK police forces and border and immigration services.

Martin is around 6’4” tall, of slim build, with deep-set brown eyes and balding grey hair.

He was last seen wearing a green prison-issue fleece, blue Pepe jeans, a blue tammy and black work boots. He is also thought to possess a beige Gap jacket, a white Le Coq Sportif polo shirt, a blue Adidas T-shirt and a white T-shirt.

Detective Sergeant Jim Smith, of western division’s CID, appealed to Martin to get in touch.

“I would urge Mr Martin to think long and hard about what he is doing and to consider the long-term consequences of his actions,” he said yesterday.

Anyone with information about Martin should call police on 0300 111 2222.