Six inmates have escaped from the Lincoln County Jail, SheriffSteve Rushing said Tuesday.

Rushing confirmed that six pre-trial county inmates escaped froma third floor window late Monday night, sometime after 11 p.m. Theescape was discovered Tuesday morning.

Escapees include Ahmad R. Butler, 22, of 920 Chippewa St.; JamesR. Durr, 33, of 1620 East Nola Road; Austin R. Hart, 16, of 338Bogue Chitto Road; Bobby J. Hudson, 26, of 306 Brister St.; JustinS. Leake, 31, of 2883 Grandview Lane; and Chad M. Wallace, 29, of148 Wakefield Lane.

Butler is charged with murder in the June 17 killing of21-year-old Anthony Nichols of McComb. Nichols was shot to deathnear the Happy Food Mart on South First Street.

Durr is charged with grand larceny of personal property, andHart is charged with burglary of a motor vehicle. The remainingescapees face various drug charges.

“They forced the third story window out and pried the metalgrates apart,” Rushing said of the group’s escape. “The hole isbarely a foot across.”

Rushing said the group climbed down from the height using bedsheets tied together as a rope. Six of the 12 inmates in theholding block stayed put while the six escapees made a break forit.

Rushing said officers are interviewing the inmates who stayedbehind and investigating the escape. It is unclear who led theattempt and how they forced open the window, he said.

“We’re in the process of investigating that now,” Rushingsaid.

Sheriff’s deputies, joined by the Brookhaven Police Departmentand the Mississippi Highway Patrol, are on the lookout for the sixinmates. Information on all six escapees has been added to theNational Crime Information Center.

Anyone with information on the escapees should call thesheriff’s department at 601-833-5231, the police department at601-833-2424, the highway patrol at 601-833-7811 or Crime Stoppersat 601-823-0150.