"Two inmates escape from high-rise jail in Chicago" by Don Babwin and Michael Tarm | Associated Press, December 19, 2012
CHICAGO — A massive manhunt is underway for two bank robbers who pulled off a daring escape from downtown Chicago’s high-rise jail Tuesday by apparently squeezing through a narrow window and scaling down about 20 stories using a makeshift rope.
The two men were first unaccounted for during a 5 a.m. head count, but it is unclear if they were still inside the 27-story Metropolitan Correctional Center at the time, US Marshal’s Service spokeswoman Belkis Cantor said.
Local shop owners say police did not swarm the area until more than three hours later....
SWAT teams stormed a Tinley Park home early Tuesday afternoon, but the fugitives were not there, FBI Special Agent Frank Bochte said....
The facility is one of the only skyscraper lockups in the world, and specialists say its triangular shape was meant to make it easier to guard, theoretically reducing blind spots for guards. The only other escape from the nearly 40-year-old facility occurred in the mid-1980s.
Banks was convicted last week of robbing two banks and attempting to rob two others. Authorities say he stole almost $600,000....
Not too big to jail.
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"Hunt for escapees was delayed" Associated Press, December 20, 2012
CHICAGO — A search for two bank robbers who used a makeshift rope to pull off a daring escape from a high-rise federal prison in Chicago pushed into a second day Wednesday, with authorities offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to capture of the men.
The former cellmates apparently broke a cell window, pulled out the bars, then descended almost 20 stories to escape the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center early Tuesday.
Joseph Banks, 37, and Kenneth Conley, 38, were unaccounted for during a 5 a.m. headcount, according to the US Marshals Service. An FBI affidavit says that the men were in their assigned areas for a head count around 10 p.m. Monday, and that jail employees noticed the makeshift rope around 7 a.m.
Nearby business owners said helicopters and police dogs did not swarm the area until almost 8:30 a.m.
The FBI reissued a plea to the public to be watchful for the men, whom they believe are traveling together, and warned that they should be considered armed and dangerous....
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Related:
"The overnight escape went unnoticed for hours. Surveillance video from a nearby street showing the two hopping into a cab in downtown Chicago shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday. They had changed from their orange jail-issued jumpsuits. Authorities found evidence of a meticulously planned escape."
"The second of two bank robbers who escaped last month from a high-rise federal jail in downtown Chicago was captured Friday at an apartment complex across the street from a suburban police department, authorities said."
Another Dorner and excuse for a drill?
Also see: Calling For Alcatraz to be Reopened
