Photos released by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office on Friday see how officials believe 10 inmates have fled the New Orleans prison.
The photo appears to show a large rectangular hole leading to the outside of the cell. The holes with several metal bars are cut off at the back where the sink and toilet are usually seated.
The horizontal bar that should be in the top half of the opening appears to be missing.
It was not immediately clear whether the inmate created the opening or whether he discovered it and planned to escape around it.
The prisoners appeared to have written messages around the openings in the wall, such as “Easy Lol” and “We Innocent.”
Other photos released by officials probably show the toilet pulled from the wall where it was attached. The pipes that provide the toilet appear to have been cut off.
At an afternoon press conference, Sheriff Susan Hutson said it was difficult for prisoners to escape without outside help, and officials were investigating whether someone helped escape. She later said that the escape showed that there was help from individuals within the department.
She said Locke, who was trapped in prison, contributed to the escape. Detainees were smashing them off their truck and pulling cells, she said, by about 12:23am when they were able to open the door.
They passed through a hole in the wall just after 1am, then exited the door and expanded the wall, and ran down the main road, Hutson said.
The inmate was found missing during a regular head count at 8:30am
One of the men, Kendall Miles, was arrested Friday by police in the French quarter after a brief pursuit on foot.
The remaining nine men are on the run, and authorities say they should be considered armed and dangerous.
