The Harrison County sheriff confirmed with NEWS9 on Thursday that two inmates attempted to escape from the county jail, but their plan failed quickly.

Sheriff Ron Myers said the incident happened Wednesday night. He said Mike Chevron and Tobi Beatty started digging into the cell wall with a piece of a light fixture.

Myers said the inmates used an old rivet from a cell door as a hammer and tried to start digging out.

Their plan was foiled when a correctional officer at the jail heard what the inmates were doing. Myers said the inmates were also caught on surveillance video and they "appeared to be trying to remove some bricks."

Myers said the inmates planned this for three days and had created a way to cover up the hole.

"(They would) take a tablet paper and go around and pull paint off the outside, use toothpaste to tape that down and when they were done they were going to cover up their holes," Myers said.


The sheriff said the jail is old and authorities do everything they can to prevent situations like this.


"The mortar is crumbling, but we try to do with what we have to keep it a full-service jail," Myers said.

All inmates were transferred to the Jefferson County Jail after the attempted escape and Beatty and Chevron are now staying on the maximum security side.


The sheriff said the county prosecutor will likely charge the inmates with attempted escape and damage to county property, but more charges could be forthcoming.

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