Inmate escapes after clogging toilet, distracts officers with overflow

CHARLESTOWN, Ind. – A jail prisoner on a work-release crew escaped Wednesday after creating a distraction with an overflowing toilet at a Fraternal Order of Police lodge, authorities said. \nWayne Mitchell, 24, was last seen at nearby G&R Auto Sales, where police said he stole a red 1995 Chevrolet Camaro convertible.\nMitchell was in the Clark County Jail for a probation-violation warrant, but had been working with a crew clearing roadside trash.\nWhen the crew stopped at the Clark County FOP Lodge to eat lunch, Mitchell went into a restroom and clogged a toilet, causing it to overflow, police said. He then came out saying he needed some towels from the jail’s van to sop up the mess.\n“The toilet overflowed and the rest of the inmates were trying to clean it up,” said Maj. Chuck Adams of the Clark County Sheriff’s Department.\nInstead of going to the van, Mitchell walked to the car lot, where an employee gave him the keys to a Camaro he said he wanted to look over, police said. Officers later found Mitchell’s jail-issued clothes at the dealership, about 15 miles north of Louisville, Ky.