New updates on escaped inmate from Muskingum County Jail

ZANESVILLE, OH –Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz has released more information surrounding the arrest of an escaped inmate.

Sheriff Lutz said Wayne Pletcher was able to break free due to the help of alleged girlfriend, Sara Moore.

“In this particular matter, he was working with a girlfriend. A female on the outside who actually walked up to the front of our building and pushed the button to get in saying she had money to put on the books. It was timed out to where he went through the fire escape, down the stairwell, and out the front door.” 

Sheriff Lutz said both Pletcher and Moore were arrested in South Zanesville on Monday night.

“I can’t release everything on where they went. We know they switched vehicles probably two times, at least that we know of. We have some ideas on where they went. We’re holding onto that to make sure that we investigate it fully and make sure no one else was involved with aiding and abetting them during the time they were out of the jail.”

Sheriff Lutz would like to reassure the public that this was no fault of anyone who works at the jail, as the inmate did not escape through a secured or sealed off area, instead he stated that the escape was possible due to a design flaw within the third floor of the jail.

“With a new jail we will not have a floor like this on it or in it. That new facility is built on a two-pod system that will have full security doors. There will be both dorms and cells inside, but there will not be any kind of minimum security like this that someone can go out through the fire escape.”

According to Lutz, concern for the new jail near the fairground can be alleviated. He noted that the previous Mosaic Tile building had become a challenging environment associated with prostitution and drug activity. Sheriff Lutz says the new facility will have a more modern and community-friendly appearance while maintaining security.