UPDATED: Two inmates escape from Girard jail

STAFF REPORTS  |  HOMETOWN GIRARD

An intensive manhunt is underway in Crawford County after two men, one held on a kidnapping charge, escaped from the county jail in Girard.

Shaun S. Simpson, a 5’8″ black male with black hair and brown eyes, charged with kidnapping and driving with a suspended license, escaped in an apparent conspiracy with Steven R. Barnes, a 5’11” white male with brown hair and hazel eyes. Barnes had been held for a parole violation and theft.

Other inmates still in custody are reported to be involved in the jailbreak, as well as an Arma woman now under arrest.

The men are still at large as of 2 a.m. April 24. Police have arrested Marlene L. McAfee, 57, an employee at the Girard Medical Center (GMC) according to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. McAfee is said to be part of the conspiracy to free the inmates.

Police say she drove her red 1999 Chevrolet Trailblazer, Kansas tags 935HGB, to work on April 23, and then left the vehicle in the lot with the door open and keys inside. As the lot is less than a mile away from the jail, the inmates readily found the vehicle and drove away.

Simpson and Barnes escaped while participating in outdoor recreation. They broke a clamp on the inner fence and climbed the outer perimeter fence, covering the sharp Constantine wire with a sweatshirt.

All available law enforcement are deployed in a search of the region. Area residents observed police helicopters crisscrossing the sky throughout the night. Help had been received from the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Highway Patrol among others.

“The Sheriff’s Office urges anyone who sees anything out of the ordinary to call 911 immediately,” said Sheriff Dan Peak in a press release.