Six inmates have escaped from the Lincoln County jail.

Sheriff Steve Rushing said the six county inmates escaped from a third floor window late Monday night, sometime after 11 p.m. He said the escape was discovered Tuesday morning.

The six were identified as Ahmad R. Butler, James R. Durr, Austin R. Hart, Bobby J. Hudson, Justin S. Leake and Chad M. Wallace.

Rushing said Butler is charged with murder in the June 17 killing of 21-year-old Anthony Nichols of McComb. Nichols was shot to death near a convenience store.

Durr is charged with grand larceny of personal property, and Hart is charged with burglary of a motor vehicle. The others face various drug charges. All were awaiting trial.

“They forced the third story window out and pried the metal grates apart,” Rushing said. “The hole is barely a foot across.”

Rushing said the group climbed down from the height using bed sheets tied together as a rope. Six of the 12 inmates in the holding block stayed put while the others fled.

Rushing said officers are interviewing the inmates who stayed behind and investigating the escape. It is unclear who led the attempt and how they forced open the window, he said.

“We’re in the process of investigating that now,” Rushing said.

Rushing said Brookhaven police and the Mississippi Highway Patrol have joined in the search for the inmates.