2 October 2023
RAY COUNTY, Mo. — A man who escaped Phelps County Jail late Friday evening is back in police custody late Sunday afternoon.
Jonathan O’Dell was arrested in Ray County, Missouri, around 5 p.m., according to FBI spokeswoman Rebecca Wu. Members of the Ray County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and FBI were involved in O’Dell’s capture.
The FBI did not identify the exact location of O’Dell’s arrest, only to say he was taken into custody without incident.
O’Dell and a second inmate, Steven Scott, escaped the jail by compromising the structural integrity of their cell. Scott surrendered to the authorities shortly after the escape.
In a statement announcing the escape, the Phelps County Sheriff’s Office said O’Dell had been jailed on numerous weapons charges.
O’Dell also faces a federal indictment alleging he and another man planned to travel to Texas in fall 2022 to shoot at illegal immigrants crossing the United States-Mexico border. The indictment also stated he planned to murder officers and employees of the U.S. Border Patrol who would attempt to stop them.
O’Dell and the other man were arrested on Oct. 7, 2022, at O’Dell’s home in Warsaw, Missouri.