C.L. Kelly, Ezra Byrd Escape Smithfield Jail by Sawing Iron Bar and Descending on Blankets Tied Together, Oct. 19, 1926

Two Jail Birds Make Get-Away. . .Rope of Blankets and Iron Bar Sawed Through Tell the Story

Sometime between sunset and dawn Sunday night, two prisoners confined in the county jail here made their escape, and as yet have not been apprehended. A string of blankets tied together dangling from the top story of the courthouse and a sawed iron bar across the window told the story of how the get-away was made, and when the jailer made a check-up, it was found that C. L. Kelly and Ezra Byrd were missing. Blood spots on the cement under the window indicate that one or both of the men may have been hurt in their descent.

It seems that the jail has a number of Federal prisoners which together rwith the local offenders of the law had overtaxed the capacity of the jail. Forty-two prisoners were lodged there Sunday when the jailer made his last rounds. This large number made it necessary to assign three prisoners to the hospital ward, these being Kelley and Byrd and Charley Morris. Kelly was in jail charged with skipping a bond, having previously been arraigned for some whiskey trouble. His case had not been tried. Ezra Byrd had been convicted of fornication and adultery and had been sentenced to nine months on the roads. Morris, who had been in jail for about 10 days, made no attempt to escape.

Mr. J. T. Matthews, who operates an electric shoe shop here but how lives across Buffalo, tells the story of giving assistance to one answering the description of one of the men who escaped. About 1:30 yesterday morning Mr. Matthews was called out of bed by a man who gave his name as Parrish. He said he had had an automobile wreck between the Matthews home and Selma, and wanted to get to Goldsboro if possible. He stated that he was leaving his car and would come back for it Monday. The man’s right ankle seemed to be in bad shape and also the side of his jaw and one eye. Mr. Matthews and his son, Elijah, took him to Goldsboro and put him out at a filling station near the overhead bridge across the railroad. Mr. Matthews did not want to charge the man anything for his services, but he insisted on paying him $3, which he finally accepted. The description fits one of the men who escaped. What became of the other one is not known at this time.

From the front page of the Smithfield Herald, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1926

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