Atlanta, GA – On the morning of October 13, 2008 at approximately 10:00am, inmates Johnny Mack Brown (52) and Michael Tweedel (48) escaped from Hays State Prison in Trion, GA by scaling the perimeter fence.

Johnny Mack Brown was serving a life plus 70 year sentence and Michael Tweedel was serving a 20 year sentence.

Investigators believe that Brown and Tweedel are currently still in the area but may attempt to flee the country via either the Canadian or Mexican boarders. Look outs have been provided to all boarder agencies to include the U.S. Coast Guard in an attempt to prevent their flight.

Both inmates are considered to be armed and dangerous with extensive histories of criminal violence.

A reward has been offered for both of the escapees. The United States Marshals Service and the Georgia Department of Corrections formally requests that your agencies provide photos of the escapees to the public through your media outlets.

The U.S. Marshal’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (SERFTF) is a team comprised of law enforcement officers from the United States Marshal, as well as, 25 other local, state and federal agencies. The task force’s objective is to seek out and arrest the regions most violent offenders. Since the inception of the task force in September of 2003, the SERFTF has closed over 14,000 felony warrants. Annually, more fugitives are arrested by U.S. Marshals than all other federal agencies combined.

For more information, see the U.S. Marshals website: www.usmarshals.gov.

See Updated News Release on Johnny Mack Brown's Capture