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The men, both in prison for Marlboro College State Law Enforcement Division agents continued to scour the area Monday,
using bloodhounds and helicopters to search for Robert Fortener Diehl, 26, and
Jonathan Melton, 25. According to prison records, Melton was serving 18 years
for burglary and other crimes in Horry and Richland counties, and Diehl was
serving 15 years for burglary and other charges out of Horry County.
The two don't have a history of violent crimes, but could be dangerous,
Sheppard said. "They were in maximum security for a reason. And they probably
don't want to go back," Sheppard said.
Escaping from a maximum security prison in South Carolina is rare, said
Sheppard, who didn't have exact figures. The method of Sunday's escape is even
more uncommon. Usually, escapees make it out hiding in the back of a truck, not
over one razor wire-topped fence and through another, Sheppard said.
SLED agents are trying to find out who helped the inmates escape. An alarm
sounded as soon as the inmates scaled the inner fence, but the prisoners were
outside the second fence by the time guards responded, Sheppard said. "We don't
think they had time to cut the fence themselves."
A guard shot at the inmates, who may have been injured by the razor wire,
Sheppard said.
Inmates were being taken to breakfast when Melton and Diehl got out of line
and hid. When the guards were out of sight, they scaled the inner fence,
Sheppard said.
"There's been no finding of officer error," the inspector general said.
"These things happen."
The outside of prisons aren't watched like they used to be. The Corrections
Department doesn't have money to put guards in a tower, leaving one officer to
roam the grounds in a vehicle, Sheppard said.
Evans Correctional Institution, on the outskirts of Bennettsville, is
surrounded mostly by woods and houses.
The prison has about 1,450 inmates and 250 uniformed guards, according to
agency statistics.
burglary, scaled the inner fence at Evans
Correctional Institution early Sunday morning, then climbed through the outer
fence after it was cut, Corrections Department Inspector General Charlie
Sheppard said.