Inmates Cut Hole In Ceiling To Escape Missouri County Jail

CASSVILLE, MO — Authorities are searching for three inmates who escaped a jail in rural Missouri by cutting a hole in the ceiling, according to reports.

The Barry County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that Lance Justin Stephens, Matthew Allen Crawford and Christopher Allen Blevins had escaped the county jail and should be considered armed and dangerous.

After cutting the hole, the trio accessed a water heater storage area and broke an exit door, KY3 reported, adding a farm truck stolen around the time of the escape had been recovered in Kansas. Barry County is located in southern Missouri, near the state’s borders with Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

The three men are no longer in the immediate area, the sheriff’s office said Monday, adding the case had been turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Blevins and Stephens were jailed in connection with multiple drug and weapons charges, according to the inmate roster, while Crawford was accused of theft.

Anyone with information about the potential whereabouts of the escapees is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 417-847-6556.