Two women who escaped from a Stark County correctional facility Monday evening used a thick robe to cross razor wire before jumping as much as 12 feet from a roof, according to the facility’s executive director, as a newly obtained 911 call reveals concerns that at least one woman suffered significant cuts during the escape.
Hope Skerrett and Kerriah Ohler remained at large Tuesday morning following their escape from the Stark Regional Community Correction Center at 4433 Lesh St. NE.
In an exclusive phone interview with Jordan Miller News, Executive Director Michael Beebe said the women escaped around 6:50 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12.
Beebe said they climbed a fence and threw a thick nightgown or robe over the razor wire to help them cross it.
“They threw that over the razor ribbon to avoid or attempt to avoid being cut,” Beebe said.
After reaching the roof, the women jumped approximately 10 to 12 feet to the ground and fled.
911 call reveals confusion, possible injuries
In a 911 call obtained by Jordan Miller News, a facility supervisor reported that two women had escaped and might still be on the roof.
“I have two escapes, possibly on the roof right now,” the supervisor told the dispatcher.
The supervisor said staff members could hear banging coming from the roof but could not determine whether the women were still there.
“They just jumped the fence,” the supervisor said, relaying a report that one woman had been badly cut.
The supervisor told the dispatcher he did not know which woman was reportedly injured.
“We have razor wires, and I’m sure they’re really hurt,” he said.
When asked whether something had happened before the women fled, the supervisor said he did not know but indicated Ohler had been getting into trouble.
Authorities have not confirmed whether either woman suffered injuries during the escape.
(Note: The reporting initially reported that there were fights going on around the building, but that was a misinterpretation from the 911 call. The article has been reflected to remove that inaccurate information)
Federal fugitive team joins search
Canton police and Stark County sheriff’s deputies responded to the facility, with authorities deploying a drone and police K-9 unit to search the surrounding area.
Beebe confirmed Tuesday that the women had not been apprehended and that the U.S. Marshals Service was assisting in the search.
“They still have the opportunity to turn themselves in, but there is an active fugitive apprehension team out there right now with the U.S. Marshal Service,” Beebe said.
Beebe expressed confidence that authorities would locate both women.
Why the women were at the facility
According to Beebe, Ohler was at the correctional center for a fourth-degree felony involving failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer out of Tuscarawas County.
She had been in the program for less than 30 days.
Skerrett was at the facility for a third-degree felony involving the illegal conveyance of drugs onto the grounds of a specified government facility in Stark County.
Beebe estimated she had been at the facility for approximately 50 to 60 days.
The correctional center operates a program lasting no more than 180 days. Beebe explained that residents do not have a predetermined release date.
The facility is a community-based correctional center rather than a traditional prison or jail. Residents initially remain in a locked setting, although some may qualify for outside work assignments or program passes as they progress.
“You cannot freely walk out of the facility. We are a locked facility, but we are not a prison or jail where it’s total confinement,” Beebe said.
Beebe also said facility intelligence indicates the two women are close friends. It remains unclear whether anyone assisted them after they escaped.
A criminal referral for escape charges will be submitted to the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office.
Anyone with information about the women’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact the U.S. Marshals Service tip line at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833).
