A search by multiple law enforcement entities ended in the capture of two jail escapees who were on the run over the weekend.
“Sheriff Joyce McConnell would like to thank her staff for the long hours that they put in for capturing the two escapees,” said a Sunday Facebook post from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. “Sheriff McConnell would also like to thank Ruthford [sic] County Sheriff’s Department, Fayetteville Police Department, and Tennessee Highway Patrol for their help with the capture of the two escapees!! Great job to all agencies!!”
Walter Allen Sr., 52 and Christopher Meeks, 29, both of whom were in jail on unspecified drug related charges, simply walked off the grounds of the Lincoln County correctional facility on Saturday.
That facility is located in Fayetteville.
A manhunt ensued, lasting more than 24 hours.
During the manhunt, the sheriff’s office said on Facebook that, Meeks is a native of Decherd, Tennessee and Allen is from Gurley, Alabama, alluding that the two may be headed to their respective homes.
Just after 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, the sheriff’s department announced that it had captured the escapees.
In a high-profile case of escape, three men broke out of the Sullivan County Jail in Blountville by climbing through an air vent. That incident occurred on February 4, 2022.
A days-long manhunt for two of the suspects, Tobias Carr and Timothy Sarver, included a multi-county car chase after they allegedly robbed a gas station in Sneads Ferry, NC, about 400 miles from where they escaped.
The pair allegedly stole the vehicle of the gas station clerk before leading authorities on a chase through Brunswick, Onslo, Pender and New Hanover Counties in North Carolina. Both perished in the crash.
A third inmate, Johnny Brown, who was not involved in the gas station or vehicle robbery, was captured days later in Wilmington.
“I want to make it clear that as soon as we discovered an escape occurred, officers took action and began gathering information,” Sullivan County Sheriff Jeffrey Cassidy said in the wake of the escape. “My office immediately notified the school system, and a Reverse 911 call went out to alert Blountville residents. Additionally, information about the escape was pushed out through social media and provided to local media agencies in an effort to inform all residents.”
“In addition to the criminal investigation and search for the inmates, we’ve also been working on an internal review of the incident in hopes of preventing this from happening again.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photos “Walter Allen Sr.” and “Christopher Meeks” by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.
