“If we had known he had a history of running from the police we would have taken extra precautions” - Terry Elder
by MATT HUGHES
J-E News Editor
As the search for an inmate who escaped from Webster County Detention Center authorities continues, Jailer Terry Elder said that a lack of information was a factor in the convict’s escape from custody.
“We no longer get records on paper,” Elder said. “When we get an out of county inmate we have to get their records off of the Department of Correction’s (DOC) website.”
Elder said the DOC moved all of their records from paper to the “Coms” system in 2009. Although it’s been a very reliable system, it is dependant on people to enter the information into the computer, a process that sometimes takes time.
“When Jenkins was transfered in we checked the system,” he said. “When it got to his charges all it said was ‘unavailable.’ If we had known he had a history of running from the police we would have taken extra precautions.”
Jenkins was incarcerated for burglary 1st, possession of burglary tools and fleeing/evading police on foot stemming from an arrest in Ashland, KY earlier this year. At that time he led the Ashland Police on a foot chase through the snow.
“In the future I’ve asked that when another jail transfers us an inmate, they let us know if he has a history of running from the police,” Elder said. “If we’d know he had a history of running away it would have been a red flag.”
In the early morning ours of Monday, May 26, Marcle G. Jenkins, 29 of Kenova, was transported to Baptist Health in Madisonville after reporting a head injury that resulted from an apparent seisure. After being discharge from the hospital, Jenkins escaped custody and disappeared in the vacinity of the CSX railyard in Madisonville.
Jenkins is described as 5’4”, 171 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. He also has multiple tattoos. At the time of his escape he was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, white t-shirt and black and white flip flops.
Jenkins is one of approximately 230 state inmates currently housed at the Webster County Detention Center located in the city of Dixon. State inmates outnumber local inmates about six to one.
For all of the out of county inmates, the detention center relies on the information it gets from the Coms system when determining specific risk factors.