New Orleans prison escape: Reward doubled as massive manhunt for seven inmates enters third day

Authorities in Louisiana have intensified their search for who escaped from a jail by exploiting a hole behind a toilet, with the FBI increasing the reward for information leading to their capture.

Officials discovered the inmates missing during a routine head count at the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans at around 8:30am Friday. Sheriff Susan Hutson said at a news conference, calling it a "very serious and unacceptable situation.

According to Susan Hutson, sheriff of Orleans Parish, the men exploited a "defective" cell door, pulling it off its tracks and escaping through a hole in the wall behind a toilet and sink unit. without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

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The massive manhunt is now in its third day and only thre of the inmats have been captured. It has prompted officials to suspect that members of the public are assisting the fugitives in evading capture.

The FBI has warned that those found aiding or abetting the escapees will face arrest. The inmates, aged between 19 and 42, are wanted for various serious crimes, including aggravated assault, domestic abuse battery, and murder. In addition to the FBI's reward, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and CrimeStoppers are offering $5,000 and $2,000, respectively.

"The FBI will work together to ensure that those people helping these inmates evade recapture will be held accountable," FBI Special Agent Jonathan Trapp said during a news conference. He cautioned: "These inmates are accused of serious crimes, and until they are back in custody, we should all remain vigilant."

In a daring jailbreak, inmates, some of whom are facing murder charges, managed to escape from Orleans Parish Prison around 1am on May 16. By the evening of May 17, three of the escapees - Kendell Myles, Robert Moody, and Dkenan Dennis - had been recaptured, according to Landry, reports

The hunt is still on for Corey Boyd, Leo Tate, Jermaine Donald, Derrick Groves, Lenton Vanburen, Antoine T.Massey and Gary C. Price, with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies working tirelessly to locate them.

The FBI in New Orleans revealed on social media that at least one of the inmates was found thanks to a tip-off from the public. Louisiana State Police previously disclosed that one of the recaptured escapees was discovered hiding under a car in a hotel garage in New Orleans' famed French Quarter.

New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick issued a warning during a Friday night news conference about the dangerous nature of the fugitives but also urged the public "not to panic."

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson explained that the men were able to escape from the Orleans Justice Center due to "defective locks." Hutson has repeatedly raised concerns about the locks to officials and, as recently as this week, advocated for funds to repair the aging infrastructure.