By C1 Staff
MADERA COUNTY, Calif. — Exactly how five California inmates escaped over the weekend has been revealed.
The Fresno Bee reports that one inmate tunneled out of his housing unit to a common room, broke out a window and escaped unnoticed by jailers. Four other inmates apparently followed.
Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Madera County Board of Supervisors, said it’s “mind-boggling” how the inmates could have escaped, but he plans to find out what went wrong.
All five escapees have been recaptured since their break out on Saturday.
Corrections officers realized the inmates were missing about an hour after they escaped. Initial reports varied between one and six escapees before finally settling on a total of five.
Inmate Juan Lopez is believed to have tunneled from his housing unit to a common room called the “civil tank.” There he broke a large window and escaped.
Jail staff at the time were trying to keep the facility secured while the window was being repaired, according to Wheeler.
He said he wasn’t told how the other four escaped, but assumed that it must have been through the same path as Lopez.
“You build a brand new jail and spend $30 million, you’d think it would be foolproof,” Wheeler said.