Authorities stated yesterday that their search for escaped inmates Johnny Mac Brown and Micahel Tweedel,  will now be expanded to include a larger area, with the assistance of state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the Southeast, to ensure the felons are apprehended as quickly as possible.

Commissioner James E. Donald stated yesterday, “We have to be cautious with the release of information and assume that the escapees will have access to that same information.” Donald added “At the same time, we want to assure the community that we are investigating the circumstances of the escape from Hays, and we are taking strong measures to ensure there is no reoccurrence,”

Donald left open the possibility that the suspended Hays State Prison employees could be fired.