SALEM, Ore. -- A Marion County inmate convicted of burglary has escaped on his first day on the job at a work center.

Around 10:20 a.m. Monday morning, Derik Morganstern walked away from the Oregon State Fairgrounds at 2330 17th Street NE where he'd been put to work.

Just minutes before his disappearance, Morganstern and another inmate had been instructed to pick up trash in the 4-H barn. The crew leader said he checked in on the two as they were finishing up, gave them instructions for the next job and left to check on another crew, unaware of Morganstern's disappearance.

Deputies cite a different account of the events, stating Morganstern, 21, fled on the heels of the crew leader's departure and that once he did so, the second inmate alerted the crew leader almost immediately.

When the work crew leader did discover Morganstern was gone, he notified Marion County 911 dispatch, prompting all law enforcement agencies to attempt to locate the missing inmate.

Morganstern was serving a 182-day sentence on a second-degree burglary charge. He was scheduled for release on May 4, 2010.

Monday was Morganstern's first day on the work crew. He had just been transported from the Marion County Jail to the work center on Sunday.

Morganstern is 6-foot-1 and 156 pounds with short black hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing tan cargo pants with "inmate" stenciled in white on the sides, an orange T-shirt and black hooded sweatshirt.

Morganstern has tattoos of a bar code on his back, flames on his right wrist, a banana on his left shoulder, a zero on his right leg and the letters "JCS" on his right shoulder.

Anyone with information on Morganstern's whereabouts is urged to call the Marion County Sheriff's Office immediately at (503) 588-5032.