Authorities in Georgia asked for the public's assistance on Monday, Feb. 9, after two inmates facing violent crime charges escaped from jail over the weekend.
Two inmates escaped custody from the Sumter County Jail at around 9:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, Feb. 8, according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office. The Sumter County Jail is located in Americus, Georgia, a small city about 139 miles south of Atlanta.
The inmates, identified as Ricky Martin, 20, and Kentravious Holmes, 21, were being held on multiple charges, including murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery, according to the sheriff's office. The escape prompted a widespread search involving multiple law enforcement agencies, and authorities released a be on the lookout, or BOLO, alert for the inmates on the morning of Monday, Feb. 9.
Authorities did not immediately release details on how the inmates escaped, but Sheriff Eric Bryant told local television station WALB that investigators were "still following up on different things that we're finding inside the building."
The sheriff added that it appears that there was "some type of mechanical failure with the locking system" at the facility, according to WALB.
