A lockdown is in place at Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford while staff look for a chef's knife that went missing from the kitchen.
The lockdown began at about 7:45 p.m. on Friday, when the knife, which had been tethered, was discovered missing.
Assistant warden Gordon Tanner said the search was ordered "to ensure the safety and security of the institution, its staff and inmates."
He said normal operations will resume "as soon as it is considered safe to to do so."
Visits have been suspended while the search continues at the medium-security federal prison located on King Road in Abbotsford.