Authorities on Tuesday were searching for two men who had escaped from a jail in Central Arkansas and were considered to be dangerous, in a manhunt that has mobilized law enforcement agencies across the state, officials said. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Tuesday that officers found out Monday morning that two detainees were missing from the W.C. “Dub” Brassell Adult Detention Center in Pine Bluff, about 40 miles southeast of Little Rock. Officials are investigating how the men, Noah Roush, 22, and Jatonia Bryant, 23, escaped undetected, Maj. John Bean, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said on Tuesday. They likely fled within the last two days, he said, and they are not believed to be armed. The Arkansas State Police and the Department of Corrections are assisting in the investigation, according to the New York Times. Major Bean said reverse 911 calls had been made to the roughly 66,000 residents of Jefferson County, cautioning them about the manhunt.
He added that officials were also investigating the men’s relationship and whether they worked together. Roush, who was being held on probable cause for residential burglary and theft of property, had also been named a suspect in a homicide, the sheriff’s office said. Bryant had been detained on capital murder charges stemming from the killing of Christopher Harris, 49, in Pine Bluff last summer. Last year, several communities across the country were gripped by high-profile manhunts that grew to involve hundreds of law enforcement officers, stirring anxiety in areas where escapees were thought to be hiding. Steven Shaner, a Pine Bluff council member, said that as of Tuesday morning, he had not heard or sensed widespread worry about the manhunt in Pine Bluff. However, there was concern among city officials that the longer the search dragged on, the more worrisome it could become for residents. Shaner said that in more than two decades in Pine Bluff, he could not recall any other inmates escaping from the jail. “Hopefully they will have them back in custody soon,” he said.
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