Idaho Inmate Slipped Out of Utility Closet

WALLACE, Idaho (AP) — Shoshone County authorities in north Idaho say an inmate escaped from the county jail by working his way through a utility room ceiling crawl space to reach the lobby.

KXLY-TV in Spokane, Washington, reports that Sheriff Mitch Alexander says due to funding limitations, there was only one person and a trainee working at the jail in Wallace, Idaho, when 48-year-old Roy Bieluch escaped Tuesday night. The sheriff says the inmate was on a cleaning crew at the time.

The search for the inmate continues. Alexander says deputies have arrested a woman they believe assisted Bieluch after his escape. A photo from a jail security camera shows the inmate coming out of a cleaning closet in the lobby just as a cleaning woman started to open the door.

The man had been jailed since December on charges of burglary, malicious injury to property and petty theft. He was scheduled for trial in April. A nationwide warrant has been issued for his arrest.