Sheriff: 4 inmates escape county jail in Ohio

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Monday, September 30, 2019
Sheriff: 4 inmates escape county jail in Ohio
Sheriff: 4 inmates escape county jail in Ohio: as seen on Action News Mornings, September 30, 2019

GALLIPOLIS, Ohio (WPVI) -- A sheriff says four inmates have overpowered two corrections officers with a homemade weapon and escaped from a county jail in Ohio.

The Gallia County Sheriff's Office says the four men forced open a secured door at the jail in Gallipolis, along the Ohio River in southeast Ohio, early Sunday. Authorities said they had help from at least one person outside the jail.

Ohio authorities have identified the inmates as 24-year-old Christopher Clemente, 40-year-old Brynn Martin, 30-year-old Troy McDaniel Jr. and 29-year-old Lawrence Lee III.

Pennsylvania authorities say the Westmoreland Mall outside Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was evacuated Sunday afternoon after police believed Clemente was in that vicinity. But the mall has since reopened.