Door-to-door hunt for two inmates after prison murder

http://www.newstribune.com/stories/102303/loc_1023030001.asp

Law enforcement officials started going door-to-door late this morning to warn residents about two convicted murderers reported missing from the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City.

Chris Sims, 27, and Shannon Phillips, 35, have been missing from the prison since about 10 p.m. Wednesday night -- when the body of Toby Viles, 28, was found at the facility's ice house.

Viles apparently died from wounds to the neck and head. However, Tim Kniest, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Corrections, said they have not determined a cause of death yet.

Viles, imprisoned since 1994, was convicted for the deaths of three siblings.

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Chris Sims

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The three men apparently were working alone in the ice house, a basement room in Housing Unit 5 A & B, where ice is prepared for both food service and the inmate housing units.

Kniest said it wasn't unusual for these three men to work together there without strife.

"We certainly are investigating the death as a homicide," said Kniest.

By mid-morning Thursday, corrections officials still were directing law enforcement officers to search the multiple nooks and crannies of the decrepit 1836-era facility. Other officers had established a perimeter of protection around the prison site.

The missing inmates were last seen wearing their gray prison uniforms.

Jefferson City police Capt. Ray Bledsoe said officials set up a perimeter that runs from the wooded area of the prison to Riverside Park. A Missouri Highway Patrol helicopter and K-9 units were assisting with the search.

Bledsoe noted several area schools, including East Elementary, the Instructional Resource Center and Lewis and Clark, were locked down while the search was ongoing.

With more than 25 buildings and 47 acres, Kniest said it's very possible the men are simply hiding within the prison.

But he didn't rule out the possibility they may have escaped prison grounds and could be loose in the community.

"If people in the community see somebody they believe may be a suspect, or if they see these individuals, do not try to confront them, but call law enforcement as soon as possible," he said.