Vance County jail escapees were given ride after breakout, are still being assisted on the run: Sheriff

HENDERSON, N.C. (WNCN) — The Vance County sheriff said Friday that two “armed and dangerous” jail escapees who broke out on Wednesday were helped just after they fled and are still being assisted while on the run.

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Convicted felons Michael Miles, 33, and LiShawn Knott, 21, escaped the jail in Henderson around 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Vance County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Law enforcement agencies soon offered up to a $40,000 reward for the capture of the pair, who the sheriff said were “armed and dangerous.”

“We know they planned their escape in advance,” Vance County Sheriff Curtis R. Brame said in the video on Friday. “They were picked up nearby, and they are being helped while they are on the run.”

Brame referenced the manhunt for the pair but said he could not discuss it in the video.

“We are making significant progress to find them and to identify anyone and everyone involved in their escape,” Brame said in the video.

Electronic billboards went up on Thursday, just a day after the escape.

Video also released on Thursday shows the pair running down a corridor during their breakout. The pair in the video were in their jail clothing but were not restrained.

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“I know you want to hear details about the manhunt, but we can’t talk about what we are doing, we don’t want Miles and Knott to hear what we know about their movements,” Brame said.

Miles was arrested earlier this month during one of two drug raids by Henderson police and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office, deputies said.

Knott was jailed after deputies say he helped organize a March 7 shootout in a parking lot and was caught three days later with a stolen car and some drugs, a warrant said.

“To anyone who knows where they are now, who assisted or supported them, now is the time to turn them in before anyone is hurt,” Brame said. I want everyone in my community to be safe, every law enforcement officer to be safe, and I want these escapees to be captured safely.”

Officials said anyone with information about the escape or the location of the two men should call 911, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at (252) 738-2200 or Henderson/Vance CrimeStoppers at (252) 492-1925.

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