Wanted man mocks police with comment on their Facebook page

 Monday, 16 January 2023 – A man wanted on recall to prison took to the Facebook page of the same police force hunting him to mock them.

A search is underway for Michael Smith, 37, with Hampshire Police calling on him to hand himself in “at the earliest opportunity”.

In a Facebook post, the force told the public to look out for him.

In the post, the force described him as being “white, 6ft tall and of an athletic build”.

The latter part caught Smith’s attention.

Under the post, he wrote: “Thanks for the athletic build comment see you wet wipes Tuesday.”

The comment was soon removed, but he is still on the loose and being hunted.

A spokesman for Hampshire Police said: “Our advice to Michael is to hand himself in at the earliest opportunity.

“We know a lot of people have seen our wanted appeal post on Facebook and we have had great support from the public so far.

“Our officers are following up lines of enquiry to find him and we would encourage people to continue sharing the post so we can make sure Michael is returned to prison for the crimes he has committed.

“We would like to remind the public that harbouring a wanted individual is a crime which could lead to being arrested.”

The spokesman added, in a warning: “We would like to remind people that anyone found to be harbouring Michael Smith to deliberately obstruct our attempts to locate him may be committing an offence and be liable for arrest themselves.”