SPRING VALLEY VILLAGE, Texas — A truck found in the Houston area may be connected to four inmates who escaped from a jail in Mississippi.
Captain Lane with the Spring Valley Village Police Department said an abandoned white pickup truck with Hinds County, Mississippi markings and front end damaged was found underneath I-10 at Campbell Road on Sunday afternoon.
"They are desperate for freedom and desperate to be back in society, so protect yourselves," Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said.
After contacting authorities in Mississippi, police learned four inmates escaped from the Raymond Detention Center on Saturday night.
According to WAPT-TV in Mississippi, the inmates got out after breaching a cell and climbing through the roof.
"The doors locked in this particular pod...the pod is secure," Jones said. "The breach that they created was located in a cell...in a secure area."
Officials released pictures of the stolen truck Tuesday afternoon.
Jones said Dylan Arrington, Casey Grayson, Corey Harrison and Jerry Raynes escaped from the jail where they were being held on auto theft, business burglary, and stolen property. Police believe at least one inmate made it to Texas, but that the other three could still be in Mississippi.
Jackson police believe Arrington is the prime suspect in a deadly carjacking after the jailbreak.
The jail has had problems with inmates escaping in recent years due to the lack of manpower, according to WAPT. Jones said they're currently short about 50 detention officers.
"But of course, that's no excuse," Jones said. "Again, we have accepted accountability regarding what happened. We just want the other people to know the responsibilities that we are faced with."
Meanwhile, police in Spring Valley Village said there are no surveillance cameras around the area where the truck was found. Officers have been urged to be on the lookout and are investigating other cameras in the area that may have spotted something.
Police said 61-year-old Anthony Watts was killed Monday night in Mississippi after he pulled over to help a man who crashed a motorcycle. Watts was shot several times, then had his red Dodge Ram stolen. Police said the suspect fit the description of Arrington.
Multiple law enforcement agencies joined the search for the escaped inmates, including the U.S. Marshals service and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.