Authorities in New Orleans are intensifying their search for five inmates who remain at large following a dramatic jailbreak at the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility on May 16.
The escape, which occurred in the early hours of Friday morning, involved ten inmates who exploited a security lapse by dismantling a toilet and creating a hole in the wall to break free from their cell.
Surveillance footage revealed that the inmates began tampering with a locked cell door around 12:22 a.m. and, by 1:01 a.m., had exited through a breach behind the cell’s plumbing.
After escaping the cell, the men navigated through a loading dock, scaled a barbed wire fence using blankets for protection, and then fled into the darkness, quickly changing out of their prison uniforms.
The escape went undetected for over seven hours, only being discovered during a routine headcount at 8:30 a.m. that morning.
The inmates, aged 19 to 42, include individuals charged with or convicted of violent offences such as murder and aggravated assault.
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Louisiana State Police, have since recaptured five of the escapees, with the latest arrest of 19-year-old Corey Boyd announced on Tuesday night.
A $10,000 reward per fugitive has been offered for information leading to the capture of those still at large.
Investigators believe the inmates received inside help.
A jail maintenance worker has been arrested and accused of facilitating the breakout, allegedly providing tools or access that enabled the escape.
Officials warn that members of the public may also be aiding the fugitives and stress that anyone found assisting them will face prosecution.
The manhunt continues as authorities urge the public to report any information that could lead to the swift apprehension of the remaining escapees.
