Three convicts managed to escape through holes they made in the ceilings of their cells at Barry County Jail in Missouri on Friday (3 June).
The men are now on the run and being hunted by US marshals, who consider the convicts armed and dangerous.
Two of the escapees were booked on drug offences while the other was apprehended over a stealing charge and the men have not been seen in days.
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According to Yahoo News, Sheriff Danny Boyd of the Barry County Sheriff's Office confirmed the inmates escaped through holes in the roof they’d made and left the prison through a maintenance door.
Boyd said that Lance Stephens, Matthew Crawford and Christopher Blevins’ escape was made possible by old ceilings made of plaster and that two of the men shared a cell while the other’s was only several feet away.
Boyd and his staff are currently examining CCTV footage and he’s received a tip-off that two of the men may have already left the state.
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At this point, Boyd doesn’t think that any Barry County Jail staff members aided the men’s escape.
UNILAD has approached the Barry County Jail for comment.
Last month, a convict’s escape was aided by a member of prison staff, spurring a manhunt that ended in tragedy.
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A few states over in Alabama, inmate Casey White was sprung from jail by corrections officer Vicky White, who he was believed to have been romantically involved with.
Casey and Vicky were caught on CCTV leaving the detention centre on 29 April and getting into a police car before driving away.
Police apprehended Casey ten days after his escape and he was taken back into custody.
Vicky died from a gunshot wound sustained in the chase that is thought to have been self-inflicted.
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At the time of Casey’s escape, he was serving 75 years behind bars for attempted murder, burglary, robbery, kidnapping and animal cruelty.
Speaking on Good Morning America before the pair were caught, one of Vicky’s former colleagues described her as an ‘exemplary employee’.
Sheriff Singleton said: “Vicky you've been in this business for 17 years, you've seen this scenario play out more than once and you know how it always ends.
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“Now go ahead and end it now, get to a phone and call 911, turn yourself in and help us get Casey White back behind bars because you know that's where he's going to eventually end up.”
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Aisha Nozari