This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

SEDALIA, Mo. — Authorities say an inmate who walked away from a work detail at the Missouri State Fair has been found unconscious.

The Missouri Department of Corrections says 34-year-old Shannon Dewayne Watts, of Springfield, was flown to a hospital for treatment late Monday after was found near a highway between Sedalia and the town of Green Ridge.

The Pettis County Sherriff’s Office says a man and a woman who were with Watts were detained and later released. Authorities are investigating how Watts was injured.

Watts was part of a crew that was cleaning up after Missouri State Fair’s 11-day run came to an end Sunday night. He was reported missing when he didn’t return to a van that was taking inmates back to the Tipton Correctional Center. Watts was serving a 15-year sentence there for charges that included burglary and tampering with a motor vehicle.