CLOVIS, N.M. -- Eight inmates, including a convicted murderer and another man charged with murder, escaped from a county jail by cutting a hole in the roof, authorities said Monday.
One of the men was captured by Clovis police, but the other seven remain at large.
The men were discovered missing at 9:45 p.m. Sunday, when Clovis police noticed two people in orange jumpsuits running near the jail, the sheriff's department said. The inmates apparently had used handmade instruments to cut the hole in the roof.
The only sign of the men Monday was an orange jumpsuit found in a trash bin behind a Clovis fast-food restaurant, the department said in a news release.
One of the missing inmates was Edward Salas, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a 10-year-old boy. Shots were fired through the child's bedroom window as he slept.
Another escapee, Larry McClendon, was charged with murder and aggravated robbery in the January 2007 death of a secondhand store owner.
New Mexico State Police Lt. Eric Garcia said motorists are being stopped and questioned on roadblocks on the outskirts of the eastern New Mexico town.
"If they do see or suspect someone who is one of the escapees, they should immediately call 911," Garcia said.