HOUSTON -- Officials said a convicted car thief from Galveston County escaped Monday night from a state prison in downtown Houston.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials say 25-year-old Andrew Dale Coley was noticed missing around 7 p-m from the South Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility.

Agency spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said authorities believe Coley managed to get through a layer of fencing into a ventilation system that runs to another part of the building. He then apparently kicked out a wall panel and was able to flee.

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Andrew Dale Coley

Coley has been in state custody since January 2006. He is serving two years for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

The prison can hold up to 450 inmates. It is operated under contract by The GEO Group, a private corrections firm based in

Florida. The prison opened in 1993 and houses low-risk offenders under active supervision who have violated the terms of their

release to parole or mandatory supervision.

Prison authorities said while Coley was serving time for a nonviolent offense, any escapee should be considered dangerous.