LITTLE ROCK — Two murder suspects escaped from the Miller County jail near Texarkana, authorities said Monday.
The two men were discovered missing at 4 a.m. Monday.
Cortez Rashod Hooper, 23, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault and probation revocation.
Quincy Vernard Stewart, 36, was being held on a charge of possession of a controlled substance and had an additional hold by the Bowie County sheriff’s office in Texas on a capital murder charge.
Vanessa Schaeffer, dispatch manager for the Miller County sheriff’s office, said she did not have more details about the charges against the two.
Jailers who searched their cell found a hacksaw blade that was used to cut the metal bars on the 3 1/2-foot-by-1-foot window, a news release said.
After Hooper and Stewart removed the window, which overlooks a courtyard, they pushed two mattresses out the window to cushion their landing, the news release said.
Authorities have not been able to determine how the two scaled the 10-foot fence, which is topped with razor wire on top.
A K-9 unit from the Texarkana, Ark., Police Department searched for the escapees Monday without success.
Deputies do not know where the prisoners might be heading, Schaeffer said. Hooper, who is 5-foot-4 and weighs 130 pounds, is from Texarkana, Ark. Stewart, who is 5-foot-7 and weighs 169 pounds, is from Texarkana, Texas. Both are black.
Arkansas, Pages 10 on 05/29/2012