I. If the commissioner of corrections has reason to believe that an inmate has violated the terms of an approved absence, he may certify that the inmate has escaped and thereafter shall take all necessary steps to secure the return of the inmate as promptly as possible. Escape from approved absence is escape from official custody within the meaning and subject to the provisions of N.H. Rev. Stat. § 642:6.
II. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he willfully obstructs, intimidates or abets an inmate on approved absence and thereby causes or contributes to cause the inmate to violate the terms of approved absence.