Reward offered for help finding escaped Missouri inmates

There’s now a reward for helping to find the two inmates who escaped from a Missouri jail on Sunday, as police continued their search into the fifth day.

William Carter, 27, of Kennett, Mo. and Joseph Latamondeer, 41, of East Prairie, Mo., escaped from the Pemiscot County Justice Center early Sunday. The men allegedly escaped through an air duct in a shower stall and jumped a fence at the jail near Caruthersville, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and were last seen running toward the Mississippi River.

Carter is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, alleging that he ran over his estranged wife, Heather Hampton Carter, and another man, Aaron Campbell.

Latmondeer was awaiting sentencing for brutally beating a woman, breaking her ribs, biting and punching her repeatedly. The woman also allegedly had cigarette burns on her back and chest and bruising on her face, arms, torso and legs, 16 bite marks and eight broken ribs. She was hospitalized with kidney failure and a bruised heart from the assault, police said.

Latmondeer had pleaded guilty to first-degree domestic assault, in return for dropping charges of kidnapping and armed criminal action. He now has charges of theft, resisting arrest and operating an all-terrain vehicle on a highway pending.

Sgt. Clark Parrott, information officers for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said police are continuing roving patrols in an area where “a possible sighting” occurred late Wednesday night. “Our helicopter conducted an aerial search for most of the day,” Parrott said. “The roving patrols will continue into the evening.”

Officials on Thursday offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and apprehension of the two prisoners. Anyone with information is asked to call Capt. Michael Coleman with the Pemiscot County Sheriff’s Department at (573) 333-4101 or the Missouri State Highway Patrol at (573) 840-9500.

This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 9:36 AM with the headline "Reward offered for help finding escaped Missouri inmates."