A multi-agency search is underway for a murder suspect who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison cell Friday morning, officials said.
Local and federal authorities are searching for Michael Charles Barham, 34, after he was found missing from Warren County Jail Friday morning, according to NBC News. report. Barham was in custody on suspicion of burglary and arson, as well as kidnapping a Warren County couple. Barham is also believed to be the suspect in the murder of Kara Hodgkin of Jamestown, New York, according to the paper.
Barham allegedly used exercise equipment to climb over a metal roof gate at the top of the facility and escape. Warren County spokesman Cecil Stelter said Barham allegedly used a knotted bedsheet to get out of the facility afterward, according to NBC News.
“He is considered dangerous because of his past actions,” she said. “And while the public is being asked to stay away from him, he should call 911 if he sees anything unusual,” Stelter revealed. (Related: Convicted killer who escaped from Ohio prison: Police)
This isn’t the first time Barham has been the subject of an investigation. After Hodgkin was found shot dead in her home, Barham, who had already been wanted for raping her, broke into her ex-girlfriend’s house and set fire to her car. NBC News reported that he tried. Barham allegedly kidnapped the Pennsylvania couple from his home at gunpoint while on the run. Authorities then launched searches for Barham in multiple states and arrested him in South Carolina on May 24. The abducted couple were found alive in a North Charleston cemetery, the newspaper said.
Pennsylvania State Police Lieutenant Colonel George Vivens described Barham as a “self-taught survivalist” with military experience, ABC News report. Vivens added that he believed Barham was “trapped” in the woods surrounding the city and that authorities did not believe he had left the entire search area. Due to the steep and rugged terrain, “searching the area will take a lot of time and effort,” Bivens said.
More than 10 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are working together to find Barham, according to NBC News.
