Escaped Mississippi inmate said he went to see his mom

LEESVILLE, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi inmate shimmied over the barbed wire at his county jail and returned hours later, saying he'd gone to see his mom.

The Clarion Ledger reports Juantez Lyons escaped Saturday and returned Sunday morning, less than an hour after someone tried to break into the local police department's evidence vault with a sledgehammer.

It quotes Lawrence County Undersheriff Brian Rayborn as telling The Daily Leader that Lyons initially claimed he'd been locked out. A jailer on duty at the time has been fired.

At about the same time, the Monticello Police Department was broken into a mile away. Chief David Stanley says authorities have a person of interest, but declined to say if that person is Lyons.

Lyons, jailed on burglary and traffic charges, was charged with escape Monday.