2 California inmates at large after cutting through window, rappelling out of jail

Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

Four California inmates cut through the bars of a second-story jail window and rappelled down the building's side in an overnight escape bid, authorities and media reported on Thursday.

Two of the inmates who broke out of the Santa Clara County jail in San Jose were caught immediately, but the others remain at large, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

A massive search that includes using dogs and a helicopter is under way, the statement said.

The inmates cut through the window's bars shortly after 11 a.m. PT on Wednesday. The statement did not say how the prisoners got their hands on tools to remove the bars.

KNTV, an NBC affiliate, quoted a sheriff's spokesman as saying the men escaped using bedclothes and clothing to climb down the side of the building. A deputy on patrol noticed the clothing hanging from the window, it said.

The two inmates on the run were identified as Rogelio Chavez and Lanon Campbell. Both were facing charges that included false imprisonment and firearms violations.

A sheriff's spokesman could not be reached for comment.

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