Manhunt continues for convicted killer who escaped Ill. jail
KANKAKEE COUNTY, Ill. -- A massive manhunt for a convicted killer who escaped an Illinois jail Wednesday continues, and police say they believe someone may be helping him evade capture.
Kamron Taylor escaped from the Jerome Combs Detention Center in eastern Illinois around 3 a.m. Wednesday by overpowering a guard and donning his uniform, reports CBS Chicago. He somehow escaped from his cell, hid inside the facility and reportedly choked and beat a guard who was making rounds into unconsciousness. Taylor then allegedly took the guard's uniform and left the jail as jail guards that mistook him for one of their colleagues buzzed him through three locked doors, reports the station.
Once outside, he reportedly stole the guard's personal vehicle - which police believe contained his service weapon - and fled. The SUV was later found parked in a driveway, reports the station, but there was no sign of Taylor after police swarmed the area.
Taylor, a 23-year-old from Kankakee, is considered armed and dangerous, officials have said. He was convicted of first-degree murder in February and faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
"We want to remind the public that this man is very, very dangerous, he has demonstrated that in the past," Kankakee County Sheriff Timothy Bukowski said at a press conference Thursday. "We know he has a weapon and we know he will not hesitate to use it."
Bukowski said officials "have a lot of information" about Taylor, including his contacts and locations he frequents, and analysts were reviewing it to determine where investigators should concentrate their efforts.
Investigators have also been analyzing jail phone records, visitation records and interviewing inmates.
Bukowski said police believe someone either met him or picked him up at the location where the guard's SUV was found ditched, and is either helped him to flee or is concealing him in the area. He warned that anyone helping him would be prosecuted.
Taylor has a history of escape attempts, according to CBS Chicago. In February, he reportedly attempted to flee a Kankakee County courtroom after a jury convicted him of the June 2013 murder of 21-year-old Nelson Williams Jr., but he was quickly subdued.
Police had earlier reported that a 15-year-old girl who went missing Tuesday morning in the same area may have been with Taylor, but Bukowski said the girl has been located and was not with Taylor.
Anyone who sees Taylor is asked to call 911. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest.