Authorities say that the Bent County Sheriff’s Office and police in southeastern Colorado are searching for the last escaped prisoner in Colorado after two of his fellow escapees were captured, and one was discovered deceased.
According to the Bent County Sheriff, Mark Fox, 46, was part of a group of four inmates who escaped from the Bent County Jail in Las Animas on Sunday after bursting through a sheetrock ceiling in their former kitchen cell.
According to the sheriff, the prisoners escaped through the roof of an adjacent restroom, the station reported.
KOAA also reported, citing Sheriff Six, that when it came time for a head count of inmates by video survey, the group purportedly stuffed bundles of blankets on their beds to make it appear like they were still inside the jail.
“The Bent County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Colorado State Patrol and the Otero County Sheriff’s Office, are conducting a search… and notifications have been sent to the Las Animas community and surrounding law enforcement agencies,” the Bent County Sheriff’s Office stated on Tuesday.
Benjamin Valdez, a 34-year-old identified by law enforcement as another escaped inmate, was discovered deceased in Pueblo on Tuesday following a “possible drug overdose,” according to the sheriff’s office.
“We do not have a description of the suspect’s clothing at this time,” police added. “Mark Fox is described as a white male, bald, 6 feet 3 inches tall, and weighing 210 pounds.”
As the search for Fox continues, the Bent County Office of Emergency Management urges the public to secure their doors and vehicles.
“If you see anything suspicious or these individuals in your area, please do not make contact,” it stated on Tuesday, prior to Valdez’s discovery.
The identities of the two other prisoners who have been apprehended have not been made public.
Since March 2020, according to jail records, Valdez has been in and out of the Bent County Jail multiple times.
According to The Orange Leader, a prisoner who was in the process of being transferred to two deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Texas attempted to escape last week at Denver International Airport.
