The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1926-10-28
Three Escape Jail

(, hold, at 10 o'clock Saturday night are
! still at large. Authorities do not be-
Iieve that they are together. They be-
lieve that the escaped prisoners parted
company shortly after thew walked out
Of the front door of the Jail and that
there are three trails to try and pick up
instead Of one.
At only one time since the unexpect-
ed and successful break for freedom
have the authorities thought they
might have clue to the whereabouts OF
any of the men and that was when De
tective Charles O. Davenport and 9
companion searched an abandoned
CRANBERRY bog near the Hominy Hills.
Detective Davenport stated he was
quite certain that the colored man who
was seen there earlier in the day was
Tomlin. leader in the escape who had
previously escaped twice from the
county jail.
However, it was like looking for
needle in a baystack BY the time De-
tective Davenport returned from the
Hominy Hills night had fallen and a
systematic search of the district was ini-
possible then.
Tomlin, who is about % years old is
both clever and resOurceful, authorities
gained in his two previous escapes win
serve him we'll this time They believe
that adifferent story might have been
told, however, if It had not been for the
dense fog that EMBODIED the countryside
Saturday night and which would have
hidden the escaped men from the officers
even If they were within 10 feet OF each
other.
gpto q - 1:.,,l rt,>,.,1;x 1..rtya ia;l xr1oo |
on June is. when he and four others
made their getaway over the roofs to
freedom. Sometime later Tomlin was
arrested in Washington, d. G. and
brought back. Then, on Aug. IL he and |
another prisoner sawed thru the bars of
their cell and then, by devious ways /
over the roofs again to safety. But only |
for time. He. was again arrested, In |
New York, and week ago was brought |
back to the county jail.
Since that time he had never been
out of his cell until Saturday night. he
had been under close guard. But Sat-
urday evening he was issued change Of
clothing. He asked the trusty, Fred
knight, for permission to wash before
he put the clean clothing on. Knight /
consented and Tomlin went to the
washroom.
Then Jack Reyall, 28. white. Of Ala
asked if he might use the telephone. AZ
was not strange request. He had ask
ed such permission many times. Knight
consented and Revel went into the Of
fee. The was another prisoner in the
corridor. Carl WEIGH, SO, white AS
Revell came thru the Office door from
telephoning he suddenly caught Knight
around the neck, throwing him to the
corridor floor. At that Tomlin leaped
from the Mushroom and WEIGH came
running up and the three men set upon
Knight, and. after terrific struggle IN
which several of Knights teeth were
Knocked out and loosened, they sue
ceeded in rendering him insenslbie.
Then they took his keys and unlock
ed the front door of the jail and walked
out into binding fog that defied all
efforts of authorities to find them
Constituting the fourth jail break |
since June 10 with total OF IL men
having escaped, the event had the whole |
county by the ears Sunday. It was the
only topic of conversation and as news 1
Of the occurrence spread through the |
territory hundreds Of volunteers got into !
their automobiles and securing the
country roads, tried to get sight OF the
escaped prisoners. Only one, however,
had any luck in this regard and he ac-
companied Detective Davenport late /
Sunday afternoon to the spot where he /
had talked to q negro Of a description !
that tailed with that of Tomlin. When
they searched the clearing where the
man had been seen, however, there was
nothing to be found. Davenport ok
pressed the belief, however, that it was
pomIin.
The authorities believe that the jail
break was conceived and executed on |
the spur of the moment, fortuitous cir
cumsoances aiding every move the fugi- |
tives made. Sunday the state ponce,
county detectives. municipal authorit-
les and volunteers settled down to a
Systematic search of Freehold andits en-
virons but to no avail. Many of them
gave up toward evening tired and wet
and convinced that the escaped prison |
ers were far away and still going.