Four people were charged on Thursday in connection with the escape of a Fairfield County inmate from a minimum-security prison annex earlier this week.
Jeramiah Searles was held at the annex, located at 5955 Revenge Rd., near the Southeastern Correctional Institution in Lancaster. Investigators said that they discovered he had escaped at about 11:30 p.m. on Monday.
A two-day manhunt ended Wednesday night when investigators found Searles, 31, at a Sunoco station off Interstate 71, near state Route 38, at the Midway exit, 10TV's Jessa Goddard reported.
Searles waived his appearance before a judge in Fayette County on Thursday and agreed to be transferred back to Fairfield County, Goddard reported.
Searles said that he escaped because he wanted more freedom and that the escape was not worth it.
“Thirteen years in prison out in Missouri, and I didn’t feel like I was out long enough,” Searles said. “I wanted some more freedom. It was kind of a challenge to me. I wanted to see if I could get away with no help, and I did.”
Investigators said that Jason Marteny and Jamie Sheets, who were found with Searles, were charged with obstructing justice, a fifth-degree felony.
Angela Searles, Jeremiah Searles’ sister, and David Likens, both of Lancaster, were charged with obstructing justice and obstructing official business on Thursday.
Upon his return to Fairfield County, Searles will face felony escape charges, Goddard reported.
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