Jail inmate who escaped during worship service still on the lam

As of this afternoon, an escaped inmate from the Grundy County Jail is still on the loose.

Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum said deputies were still looking for Kenneth Jason Franklin, who escaped during a worship service at the jail Wednesday night.

“We have some really good leads, but we don’t have him yet,” Shrum said.

Kenneth Jason Franklin

Franklin was one of seven inmates attending a worship service in a separate building on the jail’s property Wednesday night. Shrum said a corrections officer had left to use the restroom, leaving the facilitator of the worship service alone with the inmates. Franklin asked to use the restroom himself, and the facilitator let him.

“Our facilitators are trained to know that we don’t let inmates move about the property unsupervised,” Shrum said. “I don’t know why the facilitator didn’t get on the radio and request an escort for the inmate.”