Phelps County inmate, charged with planning to shoot immigrants, escapes

A Phelps County inmate, who faces federal charges accusing him of planning to travel to Texas to shoot immigrants crossing the border illegally and any U.S. Border Patrol agent who tried to stop him, escaped from jail on Friday night.

Jonathan O’Dell of Warsaw, Missouri, and another inmate broke out of the Rolla jail by “compromising the structural integrity of his cell,” according to the FBI. The second inmate turned himself into law enforcement a short time later.

The FBI and the Phelps County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to search for O’Dell. Law enforcement officials consider O’Dell, a member of a group that calls itself the “2nd American Militia,” to be extremely dangerous because of numerous weapons charges.