A massive search is underway after two inmates escaped from a Virginia jail over the weekend.
In a routine check at about 4 a.m. on Monday, guards at Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville, about 60 miles southwest of Richmond, discovered 44-year-old Bruce Callahan and 26-year-old Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo were missing, according to Prince Edward County Sheriff Tony Epps.
"The Prince Edward County Sheriff's Office was contacted by Piedmont Regional Jail staff reporting that they had discovered that they had an inmate missing from their facility. A subsequent report from jail staff indicated that they had discovered that there were two inmates missing," Epps said in a statement.
"Jail staff provided investigators with video surveillance indicating that the first inmate to escape went over the perimeter fence on April 30, 2023 at approximately 1:18 AM, with the second inmate escaping at 11:14 PM," Epps added.
Both escaped inmates are federal detainees with no affiliations to the Prince Edward County area or local charges, Epps said.
Marin-Sotelo was being held on federal gun charges and is a person of interest in the 2022 murder of Wake County Deputy Ned Byrd in North Carolina. Callahan was being held on federal drug charges.
While Epps gave no details of the escape, superintendent of the jail, Jerry Townsend, told WFXR that Callahan and Marin-Sotelo escaped by "manipulating a locking mechanism on the rear exit door." Townsend also noted that the men did not escape together but rather nearly 22 hours apart, with Marin-Sotelo escaping first, WNCN reported.
Epps said Callahan was wearing blue shorts, no shirt, white socks and white tennis shoes when he escaped. Marin-Sotelo was wearing gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt.
Although a search involving dozens of deputies, K-9 units and a Virginia State Police helicopter was launched shortly after the men were discovered missing, they remained at large as of Monday night, Epps said.
The investigation has been turned over to the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Related
Related
