(NewsNation) — The search continues for seven escaped inmates after 10 men escaped from New Orleans jail last week, and former FBI agent and partner at PAX Group, Michael Harrigan, says that the task of capturing those on the run will only get more strenuous with each passing day.
“As time goes on, it becomes more difficult in some ways,” Harrigan said on NewsNation Now. “What investigators are going to be doing is looking at friends, associates, and family members to most likely find out where these individuals have gone and may be sheltering.”
Harrigan believes that the fugitives are unlikely to be walking the streets aimlessly and are likely somewhere laying low.
“They are going to follow those leads and be looking at the intelligence files at the jail,” he said.
The potential for the prisoners to go across state lines is also a concern, but Harrigan says it’s hard to tell if it’s happened in the days since the escape.
“It really comes down to the individuals,” he acknowledged. “Which of these suspects, how many are from New Orleans, had deep ties there? How many had connections outside the state or outside the parish, there or neighboring parishes across the state? It all comes down to each individual inmate, because it appears the escape was coordinated. They all worked together. But it doesn’t necessarily mean they were moving together.”
Harrigan added that there is a belief that the prisoners will be caught soon and that state and local governments might have to take a long look at prison protocols to prevent this type of incident from happening again.