ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Mo. – Five inmates are on the run after escaping the St. Francois County Jail, and now a manhunt is underway.
The St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department is warning the public that if they see these escapees, do not go up to them; call 911 or their local police department right away.
The suspects escaped around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Surveillance video showed the inmates enter a secured parking lot at a Centene building, where police said they stole a 2009 gray Scion with Missouri temporary tags. The escapees were wearing white thermal leggings, white boxers, baseball shorts, and white t-shirts.
According to authorities, the inmates escaped from the detention center’s secured door, climbed onto the building’s roof, and fled.
The suspects were all being held on felony charges.
Police are looking for 52-year-old Kelly McSean, whose birth name was Larry Benboom, but McSean now identifies as a woman. She is charged with sexual assault and was most recently charged with damaging property owned by the Department of Mental Health.
26-year-old Dakota Pace is facing several charges, including stealing and tampering with a motor vehicle.
30-year-old Aaron Sebastian is serving time for assault and sodomy.
Lujuan Tucker, 37, was charged with raping a minor in 2003 and was recently arrested on an assault charge. He has tattoos on both arms, his shoulder, and his back.
42-year-old Michael Wilkins was initially booked on a burglary charge and probation violation.
Authorities said Tucker, Sebastian, and McSean are known sex offenders, and Wilkins and Pace were being held on felony warrants.
Officers from different departments and outside agencies continue to pursue numerous leads to recapture the escapees. At this point, police are still following up on leads.