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Manhunt Continues After Louisiana Jailbreak: One Fugitive, One Dead, One Recaptured

Authorities have launched a parish-wide search for Keith Eli following a jailbreak through a compromised wall.

Overview

  • Detectives and SWAT teams are pursuing leads for 24-year-old Keith Eli, who remains at large three days after the St. Landry Parish Jail escape.
  • Johnathan Jevon Joseph, 24, was captured Friday after a tip led investigators to a residence, and he surrendered following a brief chase to a storage shed.
  • Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, died by suicide with a hunting rifle after police located him at a home and urged him to come out, according to the Port Barre police chief.
  • Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz said the inmates removed mortar and concrete blocks from a deteriorating upper wall and used sheets to scale the exterior; an internal investigation is underway.
  • Parish President Jessie Bellard disputes claims of structural decay, calling the jail structurally sound and pointing to understaffing and training shortfalls as the main problems.