Three Jail Escapees Back Behind Bars

By Jessie Williams

Three inmates that made headlines last week for escaping from the Macon County Jail, are back behind bars.

Dylan Ferguson, who was one of two men charged in the 2016 homicide of Brandon Fye, was added to the TBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted list before surrendering to authorities in Hartsville on Thursday morning, November 9.
Inmate Matt White was captured by U.S. Marshals in Bowling Green, Kentucky, later the same night, and escapee Jeffery Strong was taken into custody on Friday, November 10, by the Macon County Sheriffs Office on Frog Pond Cemetery Road at a relative’s house.
White and Strong were originally jailed on theft charges.
The three inmates reportedly escaped through a hole they created by removing a speaker from a wall in a cell and digging out additional bricks with a bed post. It’s believed that the men used a bed sheet to get through the opening and maneuver through the two walls. This led them to an area with a door, where they were able to walk out of the jail.
They escaped during the early morning hours of Wednesday, November 8.
Following their escape, the trio stole a white, 1990 Ford F-250 pickup truck that belonged to one of the men’s relatives. Authorities later discovered the vehicle abandoned in a field in Macon County on Cook Cemetery Road.
Ferguson and Strong are back in the Macon County Jail and White remains locked up in Kentucky awaiting extradition.
White’s wife was also arrested in Bowling Green for violating her probation. More charges are expected once she is extradited to Macon County.
According to Macon County Sheriff Mark Gammons, another woman has also been arrested in connection to the three escaped inmates, but has not been charged yet.
Sheriff Gammons has been vocal with his concerns about overcrowding at the jail for some time now. The jail houses approximately 200 inmates and is only supposed to hold 125.
There are 20 correction officers employed at the jail.
Sheriff Gammons says he is continuing an internal investigation at the jail.
“I’d like to thank the TBI, US Marshals, Lafayette Police Department, Gallatin Police Department, Sumner County Sheriffs Office, Trousdale County Sheriffs Office, Bowling Green Police Department, Warren County Kentucky Sheriffs Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol for assisting us in the capture of these inmates,” he remarked. “I can assure you that our office is doing everything we can to keep Macon County safe and will continue to look into ways to prevent situations like this in the future.”