Authorities in Georgia asked for the public’s assistance on Monday, Feb. 9, after two inmates facing violent crime charges escaped from jail over the weekend.

Two inmates escaped custody from the Sumter County Jail at around 9:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, Feb. 8, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The Sumter County Jail is located in Americus, Georgia, a small city about 139 miles south of Atlanta.

The inmates, identified as Ricky Martin, 20, and Kentravious Holmes, 21, were being held on multiple charges, including murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery, according to the sheriff’s office. The escape prompted a widespread search involving multiple law enforcement agencies, and authorities released a be on the lookout, or BOLO, alert for the inmates on the morning of Monday, Feb. 9.

Authorities did not immediately release details on how the inmates escaped, but Sheriff Eric Bryant told local television station WALB that investigators were “still following up on different things that we’re finding inside the building.”

The sheriff added that it appears that there was “some type of mechanical failure with the locking system” at the facility, according to WALB.

During a news conference on Monday, Feb. 9, Albany Police Chief Michael Persley said the inmates were spotted in a stolen vehicle by license plate cameras, WALB reported. One of the inmates has family and other potential contacts in Albany, Georgia, a city about 38 miles south of Americus, Persley said.

It was unclear if escaped inmates were still in the area. Authorities have asked anyone with information on the inmates and their whereabouts to call 911 or contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and the Albany Police Department did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s requests for comment on Monday, Feb. 9.

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The sheriff’s office described Martin as 5 feet, 4 inches in height and weighing about 120 pounds, with “un-twisted dreads.” 

Holmes was described as about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing about 155 pounds, “with un-twisted dreads, and multiple tattoos on his face and neck, including a ‘$’ sign, a broken heart, and ‘Baby Kay’ over his right eye,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Martin was booked into the Sumter County Jail in February 2025 after he was arrested and charged with murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He was arrested in connection with a shooting in Americus that left two dead and another injured.

At the time, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said local police responded to a shooting on Feb. 8, 2025, and discovered multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Peyton Brielle Roberts, 5, died after being transported to the hospital, while a 19-year-old, later identified as Jotavis Roshon Leverette, died from his injuries at a hospital.

Holmes was arrested in May 2025 and transported to the Sumter County Jail, according to the Americus Police Department. He was accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Amon Kevone Harvey in April 2025, WALB reported at the time.

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The escape in Georgia comes after three inmates fled from a county jail east of Atlanta in December. The three inmates, including one charged with murder, were captured about a day after their escape.

Earlier that month, another Georgia inmate escaped from custody at a hospital and used ride-hailing services, including an Uber ride, to evade sheriff’s deputies. The inmate, identified as Timothy Shane, 52, was captured after about three days in Covington, Georgia, a small city outside Atlanta, authorities said.

On Dec. 19, authorities arrested the last of three inmates who escaped from a Louisiana jail in early December by removing mortar and concrete blocks from a degraded part of a wall.

In June 2025, a former Arkansas police chief, convicted murderer and rapist Grant Hardin, was recaptured after a 12-day manhunt. Hardin had escaped from prison disguised as a guard and made it only a mile from the facility before he was found.

Earlier in the year, 10 inmates brazenly escaped from a New Orleans jail. Authorities said the inmates fled through a hole in a cell wall after ripping away a toilet and sink unit on the morning of May 16, 2025.

Most of the escapees were caught in the weeks after, and since then, multiple people have been charged with helping the inmates escape or stay on the run. The final inmate was recaptured Oct. 8 in Atlanta, nearly five months after the escape.