Two Franklin County (Ga.) jail inmates, including a man recently convicted of child molestation and kidnapping, escaped from the detention center early Tuesday morning when a supervising officer's mistake gave them access to an outside exit.

Odis David Ayers and Timothy Wade Cape were cleaning floors in the jail's booking area when an officer propped open two security doors to bring in mop buckets, said Franklin County sheriff's Capt. Gary Smith.

The officer stepped away, Cape motioned to Ayers, and the two walked out of the jail about 2:45 a.m. through an exit door near Sheriff Hugh Roach's office, he said.

Ayers was back in police custody about 3:40 a.m., but officers still are looking for Cape, Capt. Smith said. Sheriff Roach was notified and as he was driving up Ga. 145 to the jail when he saw Ayers and picked him up.

Ayers told Sheriff Roach he didn't have anywhere to go and that the escape attempt was "pretty stupid," Capt. Smith said.

The two men were trusties in the jail system, which means they are considered trustworthy and therefore have special privileges. Although Ayers was out of the jail for only an hour, that hour was alarming news for the mother of one of the victims in his case.  "Why weren't we notified?" she said. "Why was he given trusty status?"

The sheriff's office looks at inmates' charges, community ties and behavior when determining trusty status, Capt. Smith said.

"Both these guys were from here and so were their families," he said, using Ayers, whose wife is a nurse and brother is a county marshal, as an example.

Ayers is in jail awaiting sentencing. He was convicted on nine charges, including child molestation and kidnapping, after a long and highly publicized trial in May.

Cape was in jail on a probation violation and awaiting a hearing. He was charged with making terroristic threats about two years ago.

Both men were inside trusties, which means they can work inside the building under officer supervision but can't leave the building to work, Capt. Smith said.

The officer on duty was suspended with pay pending an investigation into the incident.

Ayers will lose trusty status and is in lockdown, Capt. Smith said. He will be part of the general jail population for the remainder of his time in the jail.