Authorities expressed confidence on Sunday about the prospect of capturing 10 escaped New Orleans prisoners who may have occupied the entire prisoner before the end of the night.
Louisiana State Police Chief Colonel Robert Hodges said federal, state and local authorities have developed available information about all seven and received multiple tips on their whereabouts.
"We were confident that we had actual intelligence on all these fugitives at the time," he said in a press conference on Sunday evening. "We will track all seven and bring them to justice."
Authorities said three people who participated in the escape earlier Friday, which Gov. Jeff Landry described as one of the largest escapers in state history, were captured at the end of the day.
Hodges said FBI agents, officials, marshals, representatives, aircraft and drones; U.S. Marshal Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Guns and Explosives; State Police; New Orleans Police; Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office is on the verge of the case.
Hodges said Allied law enforcement created a "power multiplier" in the search. He said seven escapees are likely to remain in the state and warned friends and loved ones not to help them stay overall.
"Those who help these prisoners avoid recapture will be held accountable," said Jonathan Tapp, a special agent in charge of the FBI's New Orleans office.
He added: “These prisoners are charged with serious crimes and we should all be on guard until they return to the detention center.”
State Attorney General Liz Murrill is leading an investigation into how they escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center, New Orleans City Jail.
"My office will do everything to determine if this happens and make sure it doesn't happen again," Muriel said in a statement Friday. "This is unacceptable and there must be real responsibility once these criminals are re-detained."
Authorities said the escapees took advantage of the lock-breaking advantage to evacuate from the cell and then exited the facility through temporary rectangular holes behind the toilet and sink fixtures in the cell.
As shown in the photos provided by the sheriff’s office, the message written on the wall around the opening includes “simple haha.”
Officials said the 10 people had disappeared and the hunting began at 8:30 a.m. Friday. New Orleans-based NBC affiliate WDSU reported that despite short notice of the escape, the public did not inform the public until 11 a.m.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said Friday that escapers may have helped people within our department. By the end of the day, three employees were asked for leave without pending investigation.
But on Sunday, Landry blamed what he called New Orleans “progressive” justice system, which included prosecutors, who said he failed to properly accuse some of the criminals that could trigger their transfer to state facilities.
Additionally, Republican Landry said nine out of ten escapees are awaiting trial, which will transfer them to safer state detention centers. “There is no excuse for how these cases allegedly made these cases improper,” he said.
Landry said he had ordered the jail to be reviewed and directed Louisiana's Department of Public Safety and Corrections to pull any state inmates out of a facility in New Orleans.