UPDATE: Police found multiple campsites possibly used by escaped inmate Michael Burham while continuing their search effort, according to McClatchy News. Burham is a “self taught survivalist with military training and he could potentially be held up in a wooded area,” police said.
The original story continues below.
A suspect in a New York homicide case is on the run after escaping from a Pennsylvania jail using bed sheets, according to police.
Michael Burham, considered a “very dangerous” man, escaped from Warren County Jail, where he was detained in connection to arson and burglary charges, on the evening of July 6, according to the City of Warren Police and the Jamestown Police Department in New York. He’s also accused of kidnapping and carjacking a Warren couple.
Now the search is again on for the 34-year-old after a dayslong national manhunt resulted in his arrest near Charleston, South Carolina on May 24, The State previously reported. In that instance, Burham was on the run in connection to kidnapping the older Pennsylvania couple from their home and separate crimes in New York, including the homicide, officials said.
He’s wanted by Jamestown police in connection to the homicide of Kala Hodgkin in the city, which is 70 miles southwest of Buffalo, according to authorities. On May 11, Hodgkin’s body was found in the street, The Buffalo News reported.
Burham was last seen around 11:20 p.m. on July 6 wearing an orange and white striped jumpsuit, a denim jacket and Crocs, police said. According to photos released by authorities, he is white with dark brown hair, has a beard, mustache and two tiger tattoos on both arms.
He escaped a recreational area within Warren County Jail using tied bed sheets and gym equipment, Warren County spokesperson Cecile Stelter told WIVB-TV.
“He elevated himself on top of a piece of exercise equipment and was able to exit the yard through a metal-gated roof,” Stelter told the TV station. “He then used bed sheets that he tied together, and was able to escape to the ground from the roof.”
The U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Border Patrol have joined Pennsylvania and New York authorities in the search, which is taking place on the ground and air, police said.
Residents in Warren and Jamestown are urged by police to stay vigilant and lock their doors.
Authorities are asking the public to report “anything unusual” by calling 911.
This story was originally published July 07, 2023 3:43 PM.
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