Third time prisoners have escaped  detention center

CATLETTSBURG — Law officials are searching for four inmates who escaped from the Boyd County Detention Center early Thursday morning.

The inmates are Austin Childers, Thomas Bentley, Isiah Bare and Joseph Salyers.

Anyone with information can call 606-329-2191 or 911.

The detention center has had a number of issues this year.

This is the second escape from the facility this year. On July 30, four inmates escaped the detention area via a pipe chase, broke through into a mop closet into an unsecured area of the jail, and went out an emergency fire exit. Three were captured within four days, while a fourth one spent almost a month on the run before being captured in Greenup County.

On Aug. 20, the detention center was closed down temporarily after a small riot broke out but was contained to a single cell.

Ten maximum security inmates, all of whom have been charged with violent crimes like murder, attempted murder, robbery and assault, fought with deputies.

The deputies had to retreat and called for backup. They were unable to close the cell doors before inmates forced their way out.

The inmates were still contained in a hallway, where they stacked blankets, mail, toilet paper and other flammable items against both entry doors and set the piles on fire.

The detention has also seen a number of inmates overdosing on illegal drugs, including herion.

The day before Thanksgiving, an inmate escaped the facility by jumping over a fence.

In mid-December, it was announced that four Kentucky state agencies were investigating the detention center for malfeasance and that evidence would be presented to a grand jury at a later time.