The Vance County sheriff said investigators continue to look for 33-year-old Michael "Mike Mike" Lewis Miles Jr. and 21-year-old Lishawn Knott, who fled the facility Wednesday afternoon.
Authorities warned that both men are considered armed and dangerous and urged anyone who sees them to call 911 immediately.
Officials say the escape appeared to have been planned in advance, prompting involvement from the FBI and other agencies. Surveillance video shows the two men running down a hallway wearing orange jumpsuits during the escape.
New video shows moments Vance County inmates made escape
As the search continued, the FBI released photos of the suspects and announced a combined reward of $40,000 for information leading to their capture.
"What's interesting about this, where it's located in Henderson, it's right on the border of Virginia.
The assumption that they're going to go interstate is pretty is pretty high," one law enforcement source said. Authorities say the risk is heightened by indications that the men had outside assistance and may have been picked up nearby after escaping.
Retired FBI agent Frank Brostrom said such assistance can allow suspects to travel far quickly. "Yeah, this is very common. I've either seen where, you know, when they're on the run, they have no support, no one picking them up and they're on the loose running through the woods and breaking into houses and stealing cars.
That doesn't last very long when you have people assisting you and giving you rides. He already has been several days. They could be in California by now, you know, but the good thing is they're they're going to leave a trail and the federal government is going to help the sheriff's office to identify that trail and follow follow that trail and get them safely back in the county," Brostrom said. Investigators are also working to identify anyone who may have helped plan or support the escape.
"They're going to check the records to see who visited them in jail. Brothers, sisters, things like that. They're going to go to interview these people and warn them that there are penalties for for helping somebody out who escaped from prison. Serious penalties. And so they're going to concentrate on these people. They're going to conduct surveillance. They're going to check cell phone records to see who's communicating about it," the law enforcement source said.
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