Hundreds of law officers in Jefferson City, Mo. searched into the evening Thursday for two convicted killers who were missing after an inmate at the state prison was found dead where all three had been working.
Left alongside the dead inmate was a note that threatened death for anyone attempting to confront the fleeing prisoners.
The note contained the initials of the two missing inmates.
The missing prisoners put the state capital at high alert.
Schools in the area locked their doors. Police set up roadblocks and used tracking dogs to search woods and homes. A Highway Patrol helicopter hovered while the Water Patrol combed the Missouri River below. TV stations broke into programs to advise viewers: Keep your doors locked.
Officials said it was possible the prisoners remained on the grounds of the prison, perhaps hiding in the archaic layout that includes 25 buildings and a network of underground steam tunnels.
A prison employee told his superiors he saw two men about 9 a.m. scampering through the woods to the northeast of the facility, but his report couldn't be verified.
One of the missing prisoners is St. Louisan Christopher Sims, 27. Since 1998, he has been serving a life sentence for fatally shooting Gale Brown outside a gas station.
The other missing prisoner is Shannon Phillips, 35, who is serving a life sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Jackson County and a consecutive life sentence for armed criminal action.
Prison officials identified the dead inmate as Toby Viles, 28, who had been serving three concurrent life sentences for the 1992 killing of his siblings. He was found dead with wounds in the head and neck about 10 p.m. Wednesday after the scheduled end of his icehouse work shift with Sims and Phillips.