A female inmate being held at the Grayson County Detention Center (GCDC) walked away from a work assignment on Thursday morning, but was captured in Barren County.
In a statement, GCDC Jailer Jason Woosley said 36-year-old Jessica Cross, of Bonnieville, a state inmate, arrived at her work assignment at Breck/Grayson Headstart, but in surveillance video, and shortly after her arrival, she can be seen leaving the facility through a side door, climbing a fence and being driven off by someone in a red Chevrolet Blazer, later found to belong to Robert A. Walters, of Bonnieville.
Woosley said the detention center staff was quickly notified of her escape, with a search for the inmate beginning immediately.
“Within a few hours, law enforcement in Hart County had located the vehicle that picked Cross up and questioned the owner,” Woosley said. “Multiple residences were checked in Hart and Barren Counties before Cross was located in the Bon Ayr community of Barren County.”
Cross was arrested by the Barren County Sheriff’s Office shortly before midnight Thursday evening and lodged in the Barren County Detention Center.
She is being returned to Grayson County on Friday where she faces an escape charge. Cross was originally convicted of receiving stolen property and was given a four-year sentence in Barren Circuit Court. She was transferred to the GCDC as a Class D worker (able to work in a Community Service Program), being housed at the female facility. She was later assigned to work detail at Breck/Grayson Headstart, according to Woosley.
The man who aided Cross in her escape also faces charges.
Woosley would like to thank the agencies involved in the search for and recovery of this fugitive. Those agencies include the Hart and Barren County Sheriff’s Offices, the Hart County Jailer and Kentucky State Police.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 2670-259-6000
