There's a manhunt underway for 3 inmates who rappelled off the jail roof to escape

Inmate in handcuffs
(Image credit: iStockphoto)

Authorities were still searching Sunday for three inmates who escaped from a maximum-security jail in Southern California on Friday. They cut through half-inch steel bars, climbed through a plumbing tunnel, and rappelled off of the roof using sheets as a makeshift rope, Reuters reports.

"It was very well-thought-out and planned," a spokesman for the Orange County sheriff said at a news conference Saturday, The Associated Press reports.

One of the escaped inmates, 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu, is an alleged murderer. The other escapees are Hossein Nayeri, 37, and Bac Duong, 43. It's not clear if the men are armed.

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"I think the public should expect the worst if they're encountering them," said the spokesman, Lt. Jeff Hallock.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.