A huge search is underway for a “dangerous” prisoner who remains on the run after he and three others staged a Shawshank Redemption-style jailbreak in the US.
The four inmates are understood to have escaped Bent County Jail in Colorado on Sunday, though the exact time of their getaway is unclear.
They reportedly broke their way through the sheet rock ceiling of their cell, before escaping through the roof of a bathroom, according to US news agency KOAA.
The inmates reportedly placed blankets on their beds to make it appear they were sleeping in their cell, when prison staff carried out their routine head count using CCTV cameras.
Their escape mirrors that in the Shawshank Redemption, in which a prisoner knocks through a wall, covers his escape hole with a poster of film star Rita Hayworth and then breaks out via a sewage pipe. The prisoner leaves clothes on his bed to make it appear as if he is still there.
Bent County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Facebook on Tuesday that two of the men had been apprehended earlier that day, while two remained at large.
One of the men, 34-year-old Benjamin Jeremy Valdez, has since been found dead in Pueblo, Colorado, having suffered a suspected drug overdose, according to authorities.
The other, 46-year-old Mark Fox, remained on the run on Wednesday afternoon in the UK.
Fox is described as white, bald, six feet three inches tall, and is “considered dangerous”, said Bent County Sheriff’s Office.
It is searching for Fox with help from Colorado State Patrol and the Otero County Sheriff’s Office.
Bent County Office of Emergency Management posted an alert on Facebook on Tuesday, urging local residents: “Please keep your doors locked and vehicles locked and call 911, If you see anything suspicious or these individuals in your area, please do not make contact. Call your local law-enforcement right away.”
It added that the men had “changed clothing” since leaving the prison.
