Lookalike Inmate Mistakenly Released From Jail

Search is on for Ellen Goble in Randolph County, Mo.
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 2, 2021 9:13 AM CDT
Lookalike Inmate Mistakenly Released From Jail
Ellen Goble   (Randolph County Jail)

Authorities in Missouri are searching for a woman who was mistaken for another inmate and wrongly released from jail over the weekend. Ellen Goble—who was held in Randolph County Jail on charges of resisting arrest, burglary, drug possession, and operating a vehicle without a valid license—looked almost identical to the inmate due for release, who was asleep two cells away, Sheriff Aaron Wilson tells KRCG. He notes the two women have essentially the same hair color, eye color, height, and weight. When a guard, new on the job, came to collect the other inmate on Saturday, he mistook Goble for her; Goble had been moved out of her usual cell while it was being cleaned.

Once the guard led Goble out of the cell, the 24-year-old took matters into her own hands. Wilson says she committed identify theft by claiming to be the other inmate and then signing that woman's name during the check-out process. Staff only realized the mistake when other inmates told them Goble had posed as someone else, per KMIZ. Authorities are still searching for the woman—described as 5'3", 110 to 120 pounds, with brown hair and eyes—who is from Randolph County and believed to still be in the area. Wilson tells KRCG that he expects her to be in custody by the end of the week. Meanwhile, the sheriff's office says it's reviewing its policies and considering new ones to prevent a repeat embarrassment. (More mistaken identity stories.)

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