Photos released Friday by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office offer a look at how officials believe 10 inmates escaped from a jail in New Orleans.
The photos appear to show a large, rectangular hole leading outside the cell. The hole, which has some metal bars, is cut behind where a sink and toilet typically sit.
Horizontal bars that should be in the top half of the opening appear to be missing.
It was not immediately clear if the inmates created the opening or if they discovered it and planned an escape around it.
The inmates appeared to have written messages around the opening in the wall, including "To Easy Lol" and "We Innocent."
Other photos released by officials appear to show the toilet pulled from the wall where it had presumably been attached. Pipes that served the toilet appear to be disconnected.
At an afternoon news conference, Sheriff Susan Hutson said that it was difficult for inmates to escape without outside help and that officials are investigating whether anyone aided the escapees. She later said there is an indication that the escapees had help from individuals inside the department.
She said defective locks on jail cells contributed to the escape. Around 12:23 a.m., detainees were pulling on the cells, breaking them off their tracks, when they were able to break open a door.
Hutson said they escaped after 1 a.m. through the hole in the wall, exiting a door, scaling a wall, and running across a major road.
The inmates were discovered to be missing during a routine head count at 8:30 a.m.
Two of the men, Kendell Myles and Robert Moody, were apprehended Friday by police.
The remaining eight men remain on the run, and officials have said they should be considered armed and dangerous.
