Oregon Ducks

Former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla escapes from jail (UPDATE)

Published May. 5, 2017 6:21 p.m. ET

Zack Pierce

Colt Lyerla, a former tight end at Oregon, has escaped from a county jail in the state and authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest, The Oregonian reported Friday.

Lyerla was two months into a six-month sentence for heroin possession, when he apparently opened and fled through a first-floor window at the minimum security Washington County Community Corrections Center in Hillsboro. An alarm went off at the facility, triggering a headcount — Lyerla was the only one not there. He'll now face a second-degree felony charge and won't be allowed to return to a minimum-security facility, an official told the Oregonian.

The 24-year-old Lyerla grew up in Hillsboro and was a high-school star there before signing with the Ducks. He recorded 13 touchdowns and 565 receiving yards with Oregon, mostly in 2011 and 2012, before quitting the team after appearing in just two games in 2013, citing "personal reasons." He went undrafted and briefly caught on with the Packers in 2014, but he suffered a knee injury and never played in the NFL.

He's had a slew of run-ins with the law since then — including two this year — with allegations ranging from drug possession to passing counterfeit bills. He was sentenced in March to six months in jail stemming from a heroin possession charge.

UPDATE (6:17 p.m. ET): Lyerla has been found, per The Oregonian, in a state of apparent overdose and was hospitalized. He will be re-booked into the county jail after his release, authorities told the paper.