HOUSTON - An escaped inmate from the Chickasaw County jail was not on the loose long and has been returned to Illinois where he faces outstanding warrants.

Michael Scott Ellis, 26, of Elkville, Ill., was originally arrested after being detained at and fleeing a roadblock at Davis Lake Road and the Natchez Trace Parkway on Oct. 31. He was taken to the Chickasaw County jail in Houston where he was confined away from the general population. Sheriff Jimmy Simmons said that Ellis' escape was dependent on a construction error in the jail and human error.

Simmons said that Ellis was placed in a cell behind the control tower where he found a metal plate over a lavatory that he unscrewed to gain access to the upstairs portion of the building and the grounds. He left the county after stealing a vehicle at approximately 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3 and was apprehended again at about 11 p.m. by the Oktibbeha Sheriff's Dept. at a roadblock in Maben.

He was returned to the Chickasaw County SO the next morning and was extradited to Illinois to face outstanding charges there.

Three jailers who were on duty at the time of the escape were suspended for one week without pay and cameras are being installed in the jail for added security.

"Everyone knows that the money crises is the reason we haven't done that yet," Simmons said. "I'm sorry it happened but nothing is fool proof when you have it going 24 hours a day and seven days a week."

Simmons said that he does not expect any further problems with the current facility or with the regional jail that is set to open in the spring of 2010. He also addressed concerns from residents about high-risk inmates being housed in the regional jail.

"It's a different building and it's a different construction," Simmons said. "It's all brick and cinder block and has rebar and there is an inspector on site to make sure that it is up to their level (MDOC). It's medium security. There won't be any maximum security inmates, mostly folks for dealing, theft and chop shop type stuff."