VIDALIA — Authorities are still searching for an inmate who disappeared from the area Monday, but a Tullos man has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Terry Bilbo, 37, was on a work detail doing simple maintenance at Riverland Medical Center Monday when he left the area in which he was working to take a bathroom break and never returned.

He was first noticed missing at approximately 10:45 a.m.

An inmate housed at Rivers Correctional Center in Ferriday, Bilbo was serving a sentence for simple burglary.

While they searched for Bilbo, the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested David W. Bateman, 66, 22 Treemont Lane, Tullos, on charges of principle to simple escape and obstruction of justice.

CPSO Spokesman Vernon Stevens said Bateman allegedly picked Bilbo up from the hospital site to aid his escape.

Bateman is reportedly a relative of Bilbo’s.

Bilbo does not reportedly have local connections, but he has family in Grant and LaSalle parishes.

Bilbo is described as a white male weighing 200 pounds and standing at 5 feet 11 inches. He has short brown hair and tattoos on both arms.

At the time of his disappearance, Bilbo was 24 days from his scheduled release from the Louisiana Department of Corrections.