PHELPS COUNTY, Mo. — Law enforcement is searching for one of two inmates still at large after escaping the Phelps County Jail.
According to the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department, two inmates escaped just after 11:00 p.m. on Friday night.
Steven Timothy Scott turned himself in shortly after the jailbreak, but Jonathan Eugene Schmidt O’Dell is still on the run.
O’Dell is 33 years old and described as six feet, one inch tall, approximately 200 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. When he was booked into jail, he also had a full beard, but deputies said O’Dell may have shaved his beard to disguise his identity.
O’Dell was last seen wearing a maroon-colored shirt with a Phelps County logo on it and brown slacks with a tan stripe.
PCSD said O’Dell should be considered extremely dangerous, as he was in jail for numerous weapons charges.
A press release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s St. Louis and Kansas City bureaus said the FBI is also involved in the search for O’Dell.
According to the FBI, O’Dell is facing federal charges. An indictment alleges O’Dell planned to travel to Texas to shoot at illegal immigrants crossing the border between the United States and Mexico. It also claims he planned to murder officers and employees of the U.S. Border Patrol who might try to stop him.
O’Dell is known to associate in and around central Missouri, including the Warsaw, Columbia and Springfield areas.
Authorities are still searching for O’Dell and have asked anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 911 or the FBI immediately.
FBI St. Louis can be contacted at 314-589-2500 or FBI Kansas City at 816-512-8200. Tips can also be submitted online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
