3 Missouri inmates cut through a ceiling and escaped. One was just captured more than 800 miles away
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By Raja Razek, Rebekah Riess and Christina Maxouris, CNN
One of the three inmates who escaped from a Barry County, Missouri, jail last week has been captured — more than 800 miles away, authorities announced.
Christopher Allen Blevins, 37, was taken into custody near Casper, Wyoming, on Wednesday, the Barry County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
The other two inmates, Lance Justin Stephens, 29, and Matthew Allen Crawford, 29, are still on the run following their Friday escape. Authorities previously said they should be considered “armed and dangerous.”
The group — two of whom were in the same pod in the jail while the third was in an adjacent pod — climbed out of holes they cut in the ceiling and left the building through a maintenance door, Barry County Sheriff’s Office detective Doug Henry told CNN.
The building is old and the ceilings are made of plaster, Henry said, which could have made the trio’s escape easier.
Stephens is facing charges including possession of a controlled substance and unlawful use of a weapon, Crawford is facing theft charges and Blevins is facing charges including the unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon and resisting a lawful stop, according to information posted on the sheriff’s office website.
CNN has not been able to determine which attorneys represent the three men.
On Monday, the sheriff’s office said the US Marshals Service had taken over the search for the escaped inmates, and added in a Facebook post authorities believe the inmates were not in the area.
Authorities also believe the inmates are no longer together. “One was seen in Arkansas, one in Springfield,” Henry said.
“If you have any information on where the suspects are or where they are heading, we welcome your tips and they will be passed on to the Marshals,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.
CNN has reached out to the Marshals Service for additional information.
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CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.
