Bedford County deputies continue to search for an inmate who escaped from the jail Monday morning. This is the sixth time Philip Andrew Marshall has slipped away from authorities.
Marshall last escaped from the Bedford County Jail back on January 18, when he fled through a door that did not completely shut. In October 2017, Marshall was also one of three men who escaped custody, but he was captured within a day.
Sheriff Austin Swing said he has taken steps to solve the recurring problem.
"We, the Bedford County Sheriff's Department, have made changes in our personnel," said Sheriff Swing. "We implemented new training and more training. We have reinforced the places they have escaped before and places we think someone could escape. Still, he escaped."
Swing said he has also reached out to other agencies for help, and even asked a different county's jail to house Marshall.
"After three days, the sheriff called me apologizing, asking me to come get him because quote unquote it's taken every jailer I have to watch this guy," Swing said.
Marshall escaped the jail by climbing into a vent in the ceiling of his cell which put him in the jail's roof. He cut a hole through a vent in teh roof and shimmied down the side of the building.
It looks like Marshall used some sort of tool to cut through the outside vent, but Sheriff Swing does not believe anyone inside or outside the jail helped Marshall escape.
Marshall was in jail on misdemeanor charges.
He was last seen wearing dark clothing in the woods near Flat Creek.
Anyone who sees Marshall should contact the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office at 931-684-3232.
