John Manard escaped from a correctional facility in Lansing, Kansas, more than one week ago. He was serving time for murder. Cops say Toby Young, a volunteer in a prison dog-training program, put him in a dog crate, loaded that crate into her van, and then she drove away.
Now, it turns out that a prison guard slip-up may be to blame. Bill Miskell, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Corrections joined Rita Cosby on ‘Live and Direct’ to talk more about the escape.
To read an excerpt from their conversation, continue to the text below. To watch the video, click on the "Launch" button to the right.
RITA COSBY, HOST, ‘LIVE AND DIRECT’: Mr. Miskell, did your prison guard even check the van when Toby Young was driving out?
BILL MISKELL, KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: No, the indications are from the evidence that we've been able to develop over the course of the last seven days is that the officer who was stationed at that post did not follow posted security procedures for inspecting that van.
COSBY: And obviously, I would assume the procedures are, what, to check it top to bottom, right? What did he do, just wave and say bye to his pals?
MISKELL: He looked at the van. He looked at, as they loaded the box into the van, he was observing the van, but he did not check the van in accordance with procedures, no.
COSBY: And now I understand we also have some pictures of the guy, of Mr. Manard. Tattoos all over him. Could the tattoos hopefully be the key to catching this guy? I mean, they're pretty bold here.
MISKELL: Well, certainly, the tattoos are going to be one method of identification once he is taken into custody. Whether or not they're actually going to assist in the capture, the majority of those tattoos are on parts of his body that would normally be covered, his chest, his belly, his shoulders, his tricep area. There are tattoos on his forearms that are all very distinctive and that may assist in identifying him.
COSBY: You know, it sounds like this was pretty well-planned out. In fact, like you point out, he may not even be in prison clothes anymore.
Let me show some of things that it's believed that this woman, Toby Young—this is, again, the woman in this dog program—she bought, we know, it sounds like an electric razor, two guns missing from her house. And it's believed, what, that she had $10,000 on her? Does this sound like something that was obviously planned for a bit of time?
MISKELL: This has been planed well in advance, and it was a well-planned escape plan. The other thing that we believe that Toby Young purchased within the several weeks prior to the escape on the 12th of February was some kind of another vehicle that has been described to us as being a 1998 through 2000 Chevrolet SUV.
And certainly, in the northeast Kansas-northwest Missouri area, we have been attempting to identify anyone who may have sold her that vehicle so that we can get a much better description of it, get a vehicle identification number, and use that in helping track where they might be.
COSBY: You know, as we look at the picture of these two, what was going on? Was there a romantic relationship happening or developing? She brought in the dog and suddenly fell in love?
MISKELL: Well, what we know is that she started the Safe Harbor Prison Dog program back in August of 2004 and that John Manard had been an inmate dog handler for about a year in the Safe Harbor Prison Dog program.
Toby Young worked with a number of inmates throughout the Lansing correctional facility who had been approved for participation in this Safe Harbor Prison Dog program.
COSBY: But do we think something happened here more, that obviously she got somehow attached to this particular inmate? What's her family saying tonight?
MISKELL: Well, her family, I think, is in shock. I am reluctant to speak for them, but the family and the staff at the Lansing correctional facility are trying to figure out what might have happened for her to be involved in this event.
COSBY: And what's going to happen, real quickly, to that guard -- 10 seconds—security guard?
MISKELL: We have proposed his termination. We announced that today.
COSBY: Sounds like a good plan. Thank you very much, sir. We appreciate it.
Authorities say that John Manard and Toby Young are armed and dangerous, as you just heard. Anyone with information is asked to call the Lansing correctional facility at 913-727-3235.
Watch 'Rita Cosby Live & Direct' each night at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC.