Manhunt Underway After North Carolina Jail Break

Three men are still at large after five inmates broke out of a North Carolina jail on Monday afternoon.

The five men forced their way through a fence in the exercise yard of the Nash County Detention Center, about 45 miles east of Raleigh. The yard was monitored by a camera, but according to police, the camera was pointed in another direction at the time. Sheriff Keith Stone told local media he has been asking county leaders for facilities upgrades for the past few years.

The men, who range from 22 to 30 years old, had been convicted for various charges including possession of a stolen vehicle, drug possession, and assault by strangulation. Stone told reporters he expected that the search for the escapees, with help from the FBI, would last through the night.

Nashville resident Miranda Peele said she saw the manhunt underway when law enforcement passed her with K-9. They stopped and asked if she'd seen the five men in orange jump suits running by, Peele told ABC7. "It's a little crazy."

Stone demonstrated to reporters how poor the security infrastructure at the jail is. At many facilities, he said, if you shake the perimeter fencing, buzzers will go off. "We don't have that here," Stone told reporters as he motioned toward the wide hole in a metal fence. "They're kicking it, they're seeing how it moves back and forth. There's no stability in it."

The exercise yard was not monitored by a guard, but by a camera that had a "blind spot," Stone said. "We do have a manpower issue at this time," he said, according to CNN. "Obviously if we got the manpower you can put manpower in these pod systems where you actually got human eyes there."

Two of the inmates — David Viverette and Raheem Horne — were captured late Monday night, police said. Police are offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to capture of the remaining men, and are asking the public to call 252-459-1510. Escapees still at large are David Ruffin Jr., Keonte Murphy, and Laquaris Battle, CNN reported.

Stone said community members should lock their doors.