One of two men who escaped from an Arkansas jail this week has been captured, the authorities said, after officials received a tip that he was hiding out in an abandoned home. The other escapee, a murder suspect, was still at large.
Noah Roush, 22, tried to run away when the authorities spotted him near the abandoned home in Pine Bluff, Ark., the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release, but was wrangled and taken into custody. He is expected to be charged with escape in the second degree, authorities said.
On Monday morning, the authorities discovered that Mr. Roush, 22, and Jatonia Bryant, 23, had escaped from the W.C. “Dub” Brassell Adult Detention Center in Pine Bluff, roughly 40 miles southeast of Little Rock.
Mr. Roush was being held on probable cause for residential burglary and theft of property charges. Mr. Bryant had been detained on capital murder charges in connection with the killing of Christopher Harris, 49, who was fatally shot in Pine Bluff last year.
Mr. Bryant was believed to be in Pine Bluff, a city of almost 40,000 people, Maj. John Bean, a sheriff’s office spokesman, said, adding that the authorities were still pursuing leads and continuing their search on Thursday evening. The sheriff’s office offered the public a $2,500 reward for information leading to Mr. Bryant’s capture.
The authorities also revealed on Thursday how the undetected escape had unfolded.
Surveillance footage appeared to show the two men working together, according to Major Bean, who described a scene somewhat reminiscent of the notorious 1962 escape from the Alcatraz Island prison that was later depicted in a film starring Clint Eastwood.
“They were able to make a hole in the ceiling of one of the shower stalls,” Major Bean said, adding that they had “subsequently made a hole in the roof” to break out from the facility, which opened in 2007 with 310 beds to relieve overcrowded jails in the county.
The authorities believe that Mr. Bryant was most likely hiding somewhere in town, according to Major Bean, who added that they suspected that a network of friends and family members might be helping him evade capture.
“There has not been a day without a tip,” on Mr. Bryant, Major Bean said.