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6 Cocke County inmates back in custody after Christmas Day escape

UPDATE 8:30 MONDAY: Only one inmate - David Frazier - remains at large after a fifth man who fled the Cocke County jail turned himself in Monday night.

UPDATE, WENDESDAY 5:15 p.m.: Cocke County officials confirm David Frazier was taken into custody in Forsyth County, Georgia, around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

UPDATE 8:30 MONDAY: Only one inmate - David Frazier - remains at large after a fifth man who fled the Cocke County jail turned himself in Monday night.

Deputies said Frazier is the most dangerous inmate and could likely be the hardest to catch.

"What we're basically doing is we're just following up on every lead and every bit of information, so we're looking anywhere and everywhere," said Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes.

John Shehee turned himself into county authorities at 8:05 p.m. Sheriff Fontes said Sehee's father talked to his son, which helped convince him to come forward.

Deputies also escorted escaped inmate Harce Allen back into the Cocke County jail on Monday night, after locating him in a trailer park two miles outside of Newport.

"We put some undercover narcotic officers in the area. We were able to lure him out of the house," Fontes said.

As for the remaining fugitive, Frazier "remains on the run and we will do everything possible to capture this individual and we will not let up until he is back in custody," the sheriff's statement reads.

The escapees have been charged with felony vandalism and felony escape. The Greene County Sheriff's Office is housing the captured inmates in their facility, as Sheriff Fontes says he is "not comfortable" with housing serious offenders in the Cocke County jail for now.

UPDATE 6 PM MONDAY: The number of inmates still on the run after the Christmas morning escape from the Cocke County jail is down to two.

Harce Allen was located Monday afternoon, according to authorities.

With help from a confidential source, undercover narcotic officers with the Cocke County Sheriff's Office arrested Allen.

"A second subject who was not an escapee was at the residence and was arrested after officers learned there were two outstanding criminal warrant for his arrest. The second subject is identified as Marcus Guy of 580 flat woods way Newport," according to a release from the Sheriff's Office.

Still being sought: John Shehee and David Frazier.

Shehee was in jail on charges of arson, criminal trespassing and theft.

Frazier was in custody for robbery and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. He is considered to be dangerous.

PRIOR STORY: Three of the six inmates who escaped from the Cocke County Jail early Christmas morning are back in custody.

Sheriff Armando Fontes said inmate Eric Click was spotted by a city patrolman around 2:15 p.m. Monday. Click was a passenger in a vehicle, and he and the driver were taken into custody without incident.

The driver's name was not immediately released.

Click was one of six inmates who escaped from the Cocke County Jail Annex around 1:30 a.m. Sunday through a hole that led outside the facility.

Photo Gallery: Cocke County Sheriff's Office searching for escaped inmates

Two of the inmates, John Mark Speir and Steven Edward Lewis, were captured in separate locations hours after the escape.

In the process of capturing Speir into custody, authorities arrested two others for harboring him in a Cosby home. They were identified as Daniel Speir and Jarred Schoondermark.

The inmates managed to escape through a hole behind a toilet. Authorities said the bolts holding the unit had rusted out and there was prior damage to the concrete due to plumbing repairs.

The inmates removed the toilet from the wall and gained access to a hole that led outside the facility. The hole was left behind from the plumbing repairs, Sheriff Fontes said.

"We’ve had multiple issues with this facility concerning water breaks, sewage breaks, deterioration of the facility," Fontes said. "It’s a never ending task to try to keep this place and this facility operational.”

“After breaking through the hole, the inmates only had to kick through a tin door and climb a barbed wire fence to make it out of the jail," he said.

Authorities are continuing to investigate because an inmate still in the cell propped the toilet structure back up to make it look like nothing happened. Crews will repair a 3/4 inch steel plate mounted over the exit holes.

The cell held 23 inmates, according to Cocke County authorities.

Fontes said he wants the cell operational again by Tuesday night.

The Cocke County Jail Annex was originally a hospital, but the building has served as a jail for the past 22 years.

Fontes said the building is brittle and unfit for housing inmates.

Anyone with information is asked to call Cocke County dispatch at (423)623-3064 or Cocke County Jail at (423)623-6023.

David Wayne Frazier, 54.

David Frazier was in custody for robbery and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. He is considered to be dangerous.

John Thomas Shehee, 28. 

John Shehee was being held in jail on charges of arson, criminal trespassing and theft.

Harce Wade Allen, 28.

Harce Allen was serving a 45-day jail sentence for violating probation.

Eric S. Click, 29.

Eric Click was being held in jail for evading arrest, possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, driving while suspended, violating probation and joyriding.

Steven Edward Lewis (left) and John Mark Speir (right) were taken back into custody Sunday, Dec. 25.

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