IONIA, Mich. (AP) _ Authorities say a nationwide alert has been issued for a convicted murderer serving life behind bars for four 1993 slayings who escaped from prison.

Michigan Department of Corrections Director Dan Heyns told reporters Monday morning at Ionia Correctional Facility in mid-Michigan that investigators believe 40-year-old Michael David Elliot isn't in the state.

Authorities say he apparently abducted a woman at an Ionia gas station who fled his grips when he stopped for gas in Indiana.

Heyns says Elliot was dressed in a white kitchen uniform, which might have helped him evade security. Heyns says Elliot wasn't a kitchen worker, however. The department says he was noticed missing about 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Heyns says Elliot may have escaped about 6 p.m. or 7 p.m.