7 Prisoners in High-Security Facility Escape

Seven prisoners awaiting trial or sentencing for crimes ranging from burglary to murder escaped from the maximum-security section of the Pitchess Honor Rancho jail facility at Castaic and were the object of a huge manhunt early today.

Deputies aided by helicopters and search dogs were scouring a wide area within the the grounds of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department facility and were patrolling roads and highways in the area, Deputy Bob Stoneman said.

Stoneman said the men had apparently escaped from the maximum-security facility, which houses 1,400 prisoners, by kicking out a screened window in a second-floor dormitory and tying bed sheets together to lower themselves to the ground.