Three inmates who escaped from jail just outside of Atlanta were apprehended in Florida nearly 24 hours later, according to a member of a federal fugitive task force.
The inmates’ ages range from 24 to 31, with the youngest one charged with murder and armed robbery.
The other two inmates face charges that include armed robbery and arson.
Eric Heinze, assistant chief inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, declined to share further details ahead of a news conference planned in Atlanta later Tuesday.
The inmates’ escape from DeKalb County Jail was discovered early Monday during a routine security check, the county sheriff’s office said.
“We take this breach very seriously and are working diligently to ensure these individuals are safely returned to custody as quickly as possible,” DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox said in a statement before the inmates were recaptured.
Authorities have not shared details about how the escape was carried out.
At the time of the breach, the sheriff’s office warned to exercise caution if spotting the criminals, due to the men possibly being armed.
“The public is urged to exercise extreme caution and should not approach them,” the sheriff’s office said.
It was not clear upon arrest if the escapees obtained weapons.
The jail is in Decatur, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of downtown Atlanta.
The three men’s jailbreak came months after 10 inmates at a Louisiana jail — the Orleans Justice Center — escaped in May.
The group was able to open a faulty cell door inside the New Orleans-area jail, squeeze through a hole behind a toilet, and then scale a barbed-wire fence to freedom. They escaped in the early hours of May 16.
While nine of the escapees were captured within six weeks of their jailbreak, the final inmate — who had the most violent criminal record of the group — wasn’t found until October.
