Convicted killer escapes from Ohio prison, people urged to lock doors – Law Officer

LIMA, Ohio – Killer Bradley Gillespie was found guilty of a grisly double murder in 2016 and sent to prison. Now he is on the loose in Ohio after escaping from the Allen/Oakwood Correctional Institution (AOCI) on Monday. Residents have been urged to lock their doors.

Gillespie, 50, was last seen on surveillance footage at AOCI in Lima at 8:41 a.m. Monday, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said in a news release. The convicted killer was sentenced to two consecutive 15 year-to-life terms in the slaying of two people who were shot in the head. He was discovered missing during a prisoner count on Tuesday.

Gillespie had company when he escaped. Inmate, James Lee, 47, was incarcerated on burglary and safecracking charges. He was also reported missing from AOCI, the New York Post reported.

Both inmates were missing from Allen/Oakwood Correctional Institution on Tuesday morning. (Ohio DRC)

A $21,000 reward was offered for information leading the the capture of the escaped inmates as authorities warned that both men were “dangerous.”

Officials said early Wednesday morning that Lee had been captured in Hendersonville, Kentucky. However, Gillespie remains on the run.

James Lee was captured in Kentucky early Wednesday. (Williams County Sheriff’s Office)

The search continues for Gillespie as residents were told to lock their doors and call 911 to report any suspicious activity, WFIE reported.

Gillespie was found guilty of the murder of Hannah Fischer, 21, and her boyfriend Frank Tracy, Jr., 47, in Sept. 2016, according to the Bryan Times.

Loved ones of the victims told the outlet at the end of Gillespie’s trial that “justice was served for Hannah and Frank.”

It was unclear how the men escaped, but the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is conducting an internal investigation.