FARMINGTON, Mo. — The five inmates who escaped Tuesday night from the St. Francois County Jail in Farmington, Missouri, are back in custody.
The suspects were identified Tuesday as Kelly McSean, Dakota Pace, Aaron Sebastian, Lujuan Tucker and Michael Wilkins.
The St. Francois County Sheriff's Department said that as of Saturday, they were all in custody.
The sheriff's department said investigators began focusing on the Poplar Bluff area Thursday morning after a tip that a person matching Wilkins' description was seen at a bar. Witnesses said the man entered the bar alone on Wednesday evening and mostly kept to himself, only drinking water.
Witnesses felt the man was behaving strangely, and then reported the sighting after seeing news reports Thursday morning. Police positively identified him using surveillance video from the bar.
Wilkins was taken into custody without incident Friday morning by Poplar Bluff officers at a second-hand retail store and transported back to St. Francois County, the sheriff's office said.
Early Saturday morning, St. Francois County Sheriff's Department sent out another update alerting that two more of the escaped inmates had been taken into custody.
The release said Kelly McSean and Aaron Sebastian were taken into custody late Friday night by Ohio State Highway Patrol in or near Benton County, Ohio, after a vehicle pursuit in the 2009 Toyota Scion that had previously been reported stolen.
Later Saturday morning, the department said in an update that Pace and Tucker were taken into custody overnight in Butler County, Ohio.
Pace, Tucker, Sebastian and McSean are being held in Butler County Jail awaiting extradition.
In a statement, St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Gregory Armstrong said it was believed the inmates accessed the detention center’s roof through a plumbing chase, a section of a building that houses pipes and vents.
The inmates were seen on surveillance video at about 7 p.m. Tuesday stealing a dark gray 2009 Toyota Scion from the parking lot of the Centene Center in the Farmington Industrial Park.
The stolen vehicle had a Missouri temp tag on its rear license plate and no front plate.
Armstrong said Tucker, McSean and Sebastian were being housed in St. Francois County Jail after allegedly committing offenses at the Sex Offender Rehabilitation & Treatment Services in Farmington.
According to sheriff’s department officials, McSean is classified as a sexual predator.
5 On Your Side spoke to a woman who lives nearby the jail who said she recalls inmates breaking out a few times before and normally sees a guard patrolling around the perimeter every five minutes.
"That's scary that they are out here on the streets again. Especially the sex offenders because they can hurt some little kid out there," Beasley said.
Armstrong said members of the public should not approach the escaped inmates. If spotted, call 911 or your local police department.
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering rewards for information leading to the arrest of the escapees.
This is a breaking news story. 5 On Your Side will update it as more information becomes available.
Wanted posters of 5 escaped inmates from St. Francois County Jail
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