LINDEN, Texas -- A Cass County fugitive allegedly used a homemade knife to force his way out of the county jail Monday evening.
The county remains on alert as the search continues for Charles Obin Spraberry, 44, who broke out of the lockup about 7:45 p.m., Sheriff Larry Rowe said. Using a makeshift weapon, Spraberry first accosted and injured a male jailer before working his way into the booking area at the front of the jail, Rowe said.
"Spraberry then forced a female jailer to open the door to the outside, and then he ran," Rowe said.
The male jailer needed three stitches to close the wound to his face.
Rowe said Spraberry, who fled in white boxers and a white T-shirt, should be considered armed and dangerous.
Tracking dogs from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Barry Telford Unit were requested by the Sheriff's Office but were unable to pick up Spraberry's trail, Rowe said.
"He's probably trying to get out of state."
The Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Marshals and Texas Rangers are assisting in searching "everywhere" for Spraberry, who has a felony escape warrant issued for his arrest, Rowe said.
No other information was available.
Spraberry is a person of interest in the deaths of two people whose charred remains were discovered March 13 in Cass County. He was arrested several days later in DeRidder, Louisiana, by Beaureagard Parish Sheriff's Office, and was being held in Cass County on other charges.
The bodies were found in a burned-out camper off County Road 4667, near Bivins, Texas. They were burned so badly it was initially impossible to determine their genders or ages, Rowe said in an earlier Gazette article.
A crime lab in Mesquite, Texas, determined the bodies were a man and woman. The investigation into the deaths is ongoing.
Anyone who spots Spraberry is asked to call 911 immediately.