The U.S. Marshals Service is looking for three men after they climbed through holes they made in the ceiling of their cells and escaped out the back door of the Barry County Jail in southwest Missouri early Friday morning.
The Barry County Sheriff’s Office said in Facebook posts that the men, two of whom were booked on drug charges and the other on a stealing charge, broke out of jail overnight. They should be considered armed and dangerous, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff Danny Boyd told ABC News that his staff learned when they arrived for work Friday that the inmates had climbed through holes they’d made in the ceiling and left the building through a maintenance door.
The jail building is old with ceilings made of plaster, which Boyd said allowed the escape to take place. He said the inmates — Lance Stephens, Matthew Crawford and Christopher Blevins — were acquaintances. Two shared a cell while the other was in a cell several feet away.
The sheriff said there is no indication that an employee aided the escape but noted that he is interviewing everyone who was working that morning to be sure. His staff has pulled all surveillance video from the time of the escape.
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SOURCE: ABC News, Will Mcduffie and Teddy Grant
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