CLOVIS — Six escaped inmates, including a convicted murderer and another with a pending murder charge, remained at large late Monday, a day after they shimmied up pipes behind a wall in a jail shower, cut a hole in the roof and apparently used an evergreen tree to break their fall from the two-story building, officials said.

A group of eight inmates fled the Curry County Adult Detention Center on Sunday night. One was captured by police a short time later, and another one was caught Monday evening in Lubbock, Texas.

Police believe all but two of the men remaining at large have separated, Curry County Sheriff Matt Murray said at an afternoon news conference. "You travel in numbers, it usually means you'll get caught easier," he said. "You're easier to spot."

Authorities spent much of Monday interviewing the escapees' family members and friends. Multiple homes were searched in the Clovis area as investigators followed up on tips. Authorities also searched an Albuquerque home and followed up on a lead in Cactus, Texas.

One tip paid off when authorities were able to track Raynaldo Enriquez, 19, of Clovis to Lubbock and take him into custody, said Matt Chandler, the district attorney for the Ninth Judicial District that includes Clovis. Enriquez faced multiple aggravated burglary, robbery and assault and battery charges while in the Curry County lockup.

Murray urged the public to call police if they spot someone who looks like an escapee. "We're still requesting the eyes and ears of the community," Murray said.

Federal agencies including the FBI, Border Patrol and U.S. Marshal's Office are involved, and law enforcement across New Mexico and into West Texas are on alert.

Investigators "are looking at every family and background friend of the suspects, and they will continue to do that until they hopefully capture these individuals," Chandler said. "To get tunnel vision on where one suspect might be going, we could actually miss the lead on another one."

The eight men were discovered missing at 9:45 p.m. Sunday, when Clovis Police Department officers noticed two people in orange jumpsuits worn by jail inmates running near the jail, Murray said.

The inmates apparently had used handmade instruments to cut the hole in the roof near a skylight, he said. They gained access to the roof area by climbing up plumbing pipes in a narrow space behind the wall of a shower unit. Murray said it appeared some in the group used an evergreen tree near the building to break their falls to reach street level.

Murray said he's unsure whether any of the men may now have weapons. "It's unknown at this time," he said. "They are dangerous individuals."

The sheriff's department said among the men are convicted murderer Edward Salas, 23, of Clovis and 19-year-old Larry McClendon, who was being held on an open count of murder and aggravated robbery.

Salas was sentenced to life in prison last month for the 2005 shooting of a 10-year-old Clovis boy, who was killed when shots were fired through his bedroom window as he slept. Salas was being held at the jail before being transferred to the state Department of Corrections.

McClendon of Plainview, Texas, was charged with an open count of murder in March for his role in the January 2007 slaying of a secondhand-store owner in Clovis.

Victor Apodaca was chased and captured by Clovis police officers not long after the escape, Murray said.

The other at-large men and the charges against them are: Victor Sotelo, 36, of Portales, aggravated assault; Javier Zapata, 19, of Texico, aggravated assault, shooting at a motor vehicle and child abuse; Michael England, 29, of Clovis, tampering with evidence and being a felon in possession of a firearm; Louis Chavez, 18, Albuquerque. The charges against Chavez include aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property and extreme cruelty to animals.

Charges related to the escape have been filed against all eight of the inmates, officials said.

Police believe McClendon and Sotelo are together.




© Copyright Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.