PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The manhunt continues for an inmate who escaped the Portsmouth City Jail Thursday night.
Portsmouth police and the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office are looking for 36-year-old Dovon Jones.
Lt. Col. Byron Wilson, of the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office, said this all started with jail staff escorting Jones to a certain part of the facility.
"It's our intent to make sure that Dovon Jones is caught," Wilson told reporters Friday.
According to Wilson, Jones somehow separated from staff members as jail staff ushered him from one area of the facility to another. Then, Jones escaped.
"As far as we know, he left out of the jail portion that is currently not being used," said Wilson.
Wilson would not say why or how Jones became unattended, and he said they do not have any information to suggest Jones planned his escape.
There is now an internal review into how this happened, according to the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office.
"We're making sure those things that we are here for today don't occur," said Wilson. "But for whatever reason, we have this issue in front of us."
He said Portsmouth police and the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office immediately launched a search across the seven cities.
According to online records, Jones faces several charges including malicious wounding, abduction and strangulation.
Wilson said police believe Jones remains in the area.
"There's a part about our structure that did not work in our favor, and that's my problem," said Portsmouth resident Will Leverson.
Leverson said he did not know about Jones's escape, and he said there should be a better system in place to make sure the community is aware.
"We need some sort of alert system for this," said Leverson.
Wilson said investigators are contacting people who know Jones and said they will not stop searching until Jones is back in custody.
Anyone with information on Jones' whereabouts, call police immediately.
Jones is listed at about 5 feet 11, and he has a tattoo on the left side of his neck. He is considered dangerous, said police.