A manunt is under way in a wooded area near North Bend for a prisoner who escaped Wednesday night from the minimum security unit at the Monroe Correctional Complex.

Monroe police spokeswoman Debbie Willis says investigators believe a friend who gave Brandon J. Musto a ride dropped him off in the wooded area off Interstate 90.

About two dozen officers from the Department of Corrections, King County sheriff's office, Washington State Patrol and U.S. Marshals Service are searching.

Willis says the friend who was arrested Thursday at McCleary is cooperating with investigators. She says 59-year-old Rupert Soriano is held in the Snohomish County in Everett for investigation of rendering criminal assistance.

Musto was just three months away from release when he escaped, apparently by climbing over a 10-foot fence.