8 inmates accused in jail escape attempt with hole in wall

BEAVER, W.Va. (AP) - Authorities say a West Virginia jail escape was thwarted last month and eight inmates were arrested.

News outlets cite the criminal complaint in Monday reports that details the alleged escape plan. State troopers discovered an 18-inch (46-centimeter) hole in a cell wall leading to a pipe chase that could allow access to prohibited areas of Southern Regional Jail.

Raleigh County prosecutor Brian Parsons says the Greenbrier County Prosecutor’s Office contacted his office Nov. 15 with a tip about the planned escape during Thanksgiving weekend.

The complaint says authorities were told the motive for the plan was to take guns and a weapon used in a killing out of the state. The eight men were apprehended on attempted escape and other charges.

Parsons says the public was never in any danger.