Authorities are looking for two dangerous prisoners, one of whom has been charged with multiple homicides, after the pair escaped their cell.
Nasir Grant, 24, and Ameen Hurst, 18, were last seen over 24 hours before officials realised they had gone missing.
Blanche Carney, the Department of Prisons commissioner, said on Monday: “We are adamant and working tirelessly to get these two dangerous individuals back in custody and that is the focus of our investigation.”
The duo escaped the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Facility through a hole in a yard fence on Sunday at approximately 8.30pm.
They were discovered missing around 3pm on Monday afternoon during a headcount.
Carney said prison officers did not realise Grant and Hurst had been missing in three earlier headcounts at 11pm on Sunday, and 3am and 7am on Monday before they discovered the escape.
She said authorities are now investigating why the missing inmates were not spotted earlier on.
Carney put the facility on lockdown shortly after the two inmates were discovered to be missing, and headcount and perimeter patrols were increased.
Hurst had been in custody since March 21 in connection to four homicides dating back to Christmas Eve 2020. He was described as 6-foot tall and weighing 140 pounds.
Grant was in prison since September 28, 2022 on gun and narcotics charges. He is 5-foot-9 and weighs approximately 190 pounds.
Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney said: “Clearly the system screwed up and people didn’t do what they were supposed to do.”
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