Two men who escaped from the Porter County, Ind., Jail sometime after midnight Tuesday were arrested later in the morning in Lake Station, officials said.

James E. Pridmore, 36, of Portage, and Delbert Tompkins, 31, pulled off the first escape from the new Porter County Jail by using one of the oldest stunts in the book.
Prior to fleeing, the pair made it look like their beds were occupied, according to Sgt. Timothy Emmons, spokesman for the Porter County Sheriff's Department.

Then, after midnight, the pair escaped through the ceiling of their holding cells and climbed out onto the roof.

This is the first such incident in the three-year-old jail, Emmons said.

Pridmore was being held on armed robbery charges in association with the incident at McCool's Bar in South Haven last month. Tompkins is a federal prisoner who was being held on federal firearms violations and escape charges.

In a release to media shortly after the escape, Emmons said that both men "are considered extremely dangerous and both are known to have possessed weapons in the past."

About 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, Lake Station police received a report of two suspicious men in the area of Dione Street near an unused railroad bridge. They were driving a white pick-up truck.

Officer Shannon Hamara and his police dog arrived at the scene and discovered the men, both of whom attempted to flee.

Neither made it far. Tompkins was chased down by the police dog when he fled into a water-filled area. Pridmore surrendered after being surrounded by several officers.

Their escape vehicle was not found at the site of the arrest.

Both men face felony charges of escape. Tompkins, who is a federal inmate, also faces federal escape charges.

Sheriff Dave Reynolds praised the work of the Lake Station Police Department for capturing what he described as "two very dangerous individuals."

With the two escapees back in custody at the Porter County Jail -- and now being held in maximum security cells -- law enforcement officials are investigating how the jail break happened.

While Emmons could not release further information about how the men obtained access to the roof, he did say Chief Deputy Dave Lain is reviewing "construction issues" at the jail.

Lain is also investigating employee procedures to see how the men fooled the officers in the first place. Emmons said that when beds are checked in the evening, the lights are dimmed, which made it difficult to know Pridmore and Tompkins were gone.

As a result of the escape, that policy may change.