LANSING- Ninety-five convicted felons who were being tracked by electronic tethers or in halfway house programs are listed as escapees and remain at-large, according to the state Department of Corrections.

They represent nearly 7 percent of the over 1400 prisoners on tethers or in halfway houses. The most recent escape was in February, the earliest in 1972.

Seventy-eight are under the supervision of the department's Detroit Electronic Monitoring Unit which covers Wayne County. Also counted as missing are 12 supervised by a unit in Flint and five by the western and northern unit based in Grand Rapids.

The escapees were convicted of crimes ranging from drug offenses and resisting arrest to armed robbery and manslaughter.

For example, Lee Allen Mills Jr. went missing in 1994. He was convicted of armed robbery and firearm charges in Wayne County.

Corrections officials said the list includes people who failed to comply with sentencing requirements, as well as those who may have broken their electronic tethers. Halfway houses have been almost entirely phased out.

Russ Marlan, public information officer for Corrections, said warrants have been issued for the escapees' arrest.

Some legislators expressed concern over the number of escapees.

"If one is missing its too high," said Rep. Tim Moore, R-Farwell.    

Legislation awaiting full Senate action would make harboring or hiding an escapee or person subject to an arrest or bench warrant a crime. The bills are sponsored by Sens. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, and Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Norton Shores.

"If you're harboring a felon and the police are looking for them, you better know that that's illegal," said Cropsey.

The legislation is expected to get a vote in the Senate as early as Tuesday, said John Lazet, Cropsey's chief of staff.

Marlan said, "Any kind of deterrent to anybody who would help fugitives" would be helpful.

But records about escapees missing for several years may be outdated. And outdated lists often cannot be used to track people down, he said.

"Records get old," Marlan said, adding that relatives may have moved and an escapee's appearance may have changed substantially since he or she fled.

Steve Bock, program manager for the Electronic Monitoring Center, said that Corrections coordinates regular sweeps with local police. A recent three-day sweep picked up 214 absconders with outstanding warrants.

Bock said that recent programs such as the online Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS) and most-wanted postings have helped recover several fugitives -- including people last heard from several years ago.

"When OTIS first went up we had someone turn a woman in, and she was living in a nursing home in Lapeer."

A list of all escapees can be found on the Department of Corrections Web site at www.michigan.gov/corrections. Anyone with information on fugitives or their whereabouts should contact the Department of Corrections at 1-888-221-8076 or dial 911.