Search continues for Mississippi inmate accused of murder

VICKSBURG, Miss. – Mississippi authorities continue searching for an escaped inmate facing capital murder charges in the 2015 rape and slaying of a 69-year-old woman.

State police agencies and the U.S. Marshals Service joined local authorities Thursday in searching Vicksburg and surrounding areas.

Sheriff Martin Pace says 34-year-old Rafael McCloud escaped from the Warren County Jail early Wednesday using a homemade shank to briefly take a jail employee hostage and force him to give up his keys, radio, pants and jacket. Pace says deputies recovered the radio and keys on the jail grounds.

McCloud was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, the guard’s green pants and a black jacket.

Vicksburg police Chief Walter Armstrong called McCloud extremely dangerous.