Last week, two inmates escaped from the Troup County Jail, prompting nearly a week of searching by law enforcement. Eric Calvin Bell was caught pretty quickly, while Thomas Cuddington managed to avoid re-arrest for around seven days.

First, bravo to the community for its assistance in this case. As we’ve written many times, the sheriff’s office can do all of the investigating it wants, but it’s not going to get far without the assistance of the community. In this particular case, it sounds like the community played a large role in the apprehension of both men.

We also hope the sheriff’s office uses this as a way to reinforce areas that could lead to escape.

Inmates have time on their hands, and some of them are probably always looking for loopholes and ways to scheme the system.

Cuddington and Bell found an escape route, one that gave them a couple of days on the outside.

Thanks to the work of the Troup County Sheriff’s Office and the help from citizens in our community, neither got very far.