5 Inmates at Large After Escaping Missouri Jail

Group of fugitives includes 3 sex offenders, authorities say
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 18, 2023 6:45 PM CST
Sex Offenders at Large After Missouri Jailbreak
Kelly McSean   (St. Francois County Sheriff's Department)

Five inmates, including three sex offenders, are still at large after escaping from a jail in Farmington, Missouri, on Tuesday night, authorities say. The five men—Kelly McSean, Dakota Pace, Aaron Sebastian, LuJuan Tucker, and Michael Wilkins—escaped from the St. Francois County Detention Center around 7pm after crawling through a hole behind a sink in a cell and making their way to the roof, according to court records seen by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. After making their way to the ground, they stole a dark gray 2009 Toyota Scion from a nearby parking lot and headed south, authorities say. They were discovered missing during a 10pm head count, the Post-Dispatch reports.

"All inmates discarded their orange clothing and were seen on camera wearing white thermal leggings, white boxer and/or basketball shorts and white t-shirts. Tucker was wearing a black t-shirt," the St. Francois County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. The sheriff's office said anybody who sees the fugitives should call 911 instead of trying to approach them, NBC reports. Authorities said that all five men were being held on felony charges and that McSean, Sebastian, and Tucker are known sex offenders. The three men were being held at the jail after committing offenses including assault while confined in the Missouri Department of Mental Health's Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Service, authorities say.

The sheriff's office said it has "enlisted the help of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the United States Marshals Service" to capture the men. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of McSean, Sebastian, or Tucker, and $2,500 for Pace or Wilkins.

(More Missouri stories.)

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