UPDATE: In Southern Califronia, authorities have announced that the reward for information leading to the capture of jail escapees Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu and Bac Tien Duong has quadrupled to $200,000.
O.C. Jail Escape Reward Quadruples to $200,000 as Anxiety Grows in SoCal
In Southern California, a manhunt is underway and authorities are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of three inmates who escaped from an Orange County jail last week.
Reward for escaped Orange County prisoners up to $50,000 as search for jail inmates continues
On Friday night, sheriff's officials discovered that 37-year-old Hossein Nayeri, 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu and 43-year-old Bac Duong escaped the maximum security Orange County Men's Jail in Santa Ana.
According to authorities, the three inmates cut through steel bars, forced their way into a plumbing tunnel and used a "makeshift rope" to rappel down the multistory facility from the roof.
The men were living in a housing tank within the Central Jail Complex known as Mod F, which they shared with 65 other inmates.
Sometime between Friday's 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. head counts, the men cut through half-inch steel bars, forced their way into a plumbing tunnel and made their way to an unsecured part of the jailhouse roof, Hallock said.
Using an improvised "rope" - perhaps bedsheets or jail clothes - the men got around the barbed wire and rappelled four stories to the ground, he said.
The men then ran off, authorities believe.
It wasn't until around the 9 p.m. count that jail staff realized the men were unaccounted for, Hallock said. By midnight, officials confirmed that the inmates were gone.
The escaped inmates had been held on various charges, most stemming from violent crimes. Tieu was held on suspicion of murder, Duong on an attempted murder charge, and Nayeri on charges of kidnapping and torture.
A $30,000 reward for information leading to the captures of the three inmates was being offered by the U.S. Marshals; the FBI also announced it was offering up to a $20,000 reward in the case.
The FBI is asking anyone who sees the escapees to call 714-628-7085 or dial 911. Additionally, anyone with information about the case can contact the Sheriff's Department at 714-647-7000, or leave an anonymous tip by calling O.C. Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227.
More here: Manhunt Continues for 3 'Very Dangerous' Inmates Who Escaped Maximum-Security O.C. Jail