Small Town Fugitive Added to FBI Most Wanted List

On July 29, 2006, inmate John Parsons escaped from the Chillicothe (Ross County, Ohio) Jail. He was there awaiting trial. He was accused of murdering beloved police officer Larry Cox on April 21, 2005.

John Parsons has eluded capture since his escape. But his time may be limited.

The FBI has now not only joined in the hunt for John Parsons. They have just announced that they have added him to their list of the ten most wanted fugitives; a list that includes most wanted Usama Bin Laden. By being added John Parsons to this list, the reward for any tip that leads to the capture of John Parsons has went up from $40,000 to $125,000. But how did John Parsons escape?

How John Parsons escaped is being considered the work of a man with an ingenious imaginative. Using pencils, newspapers, toilet paper and duct tape John Parsons made an escape ladder. He hid the man made rope inside his cell behind one of the wall's bricks, scrapping away at the molding that held the bricks in place, loosening the brick placing the rope behind the brick and removing it as he continued adding to it. Then he used green mint toothpaste that matched the color of the painted brick making it look like the molding. The day before he escaped one of the guards did notice that the brick did not look right and put in a work order to have the brick repaired. But the work did not get completed in time for the guards to find the man made rope.

The day of John Parsons’s escape, John Parsons put on a layering of assigned uniforms and hid the rope. When it came time for a recreational break outside, John said he did not want to participate. Then as the prisoners were led outside for their break, John snuck in line unbeknownst to the guards.

The recreational area is housed on top of the Chillicothe Jail. It is surrounded by a steal fence.

Awaiting his chance, John got out his man made rope threw it up over the top of the fence and began climbing. He climbed over the fence, jumped off the building onto the next building and on into the street.