Four Ohio inmates escape from county jail after overpowering guards

Authorities in Ohio are searching for four inmates who escaped from a county jail early Sunday morning, police say.

The four men were being held in the Gallia County Jail in Gallipolis, 100 miles south of Columbus near the West Virginia border, when they overpowered two female corrections officers to escape just after midnight. The men fashioned a shank and were able to force open a secured door, the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Brynn Martin, 40, Christopher Clemente, 24, Troy McDaniel Jr., 30, and Lawrence Lee III, 29, worked together and stole the keys to one of the corrections officers’ vehicles, county sheriff Matt Champlin said in a news conference on Sunday.

Martin had previously escaped the jail earlier this month.

Brynn Martin; Christopher Clemente; Troy McDaniel and Lawrence Lee escaped from the Gallia County Jail in Ohio.Gallia County Sheriff

The men had assistance from at least one outsider who met up with the inmates after the four drove out of the jail in a stolen vehicle, Champlain said. The person assisting the inmates was waiting with a different vehicle, which the inmates ultimately used to flee.

Police in Pennsylvania located that vehicle, but did not find the inmates, Champlin said.

This is the third escape at the jail since August, according to NBC affiliate WSAZ of Huntington, West Virginia.

Police said the escaped men should be considered “extremely dangerous.”

Authorities are offering an award of up to $2,500 per inmate for information on their whereabouts, and are asking for anybody with tips to please reach out to the U.S. Marshal Service.

source: nbcnews.com