Manhunt continues for Blue Ridge Jail escapee

Larry Dodson

Address in Sutherlin, VA

The manhunt continues for an inmate who managed to escape from Lynchburg’s jail this week using a rope made of sheets.

Larry Wayne Dodson Jr., 20, remained on the run late Wednesday after his “daring escape” around 10 a.m. Tuesday, said Elton Blackstock, director of the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority.

Area law enforcement focused on Amherst County’s River Road area on Wednesday after receiving a tip Tuesday night that Dodson was seen in the area.

A helicopter, tracking dogs and several officers searched the area late Tuesday, an effort that continued Wednesday with stepped-up patrols and distribution of flyers containing Dodson’s photo.

“Who knows what he’s thinking,” Blackstock said. “We are aggressively pursuing him and we look forward to getting him back into custody.”

Investigators interviewed inmates who witnessed the escape and have been collecting evidence since Tuesday’s jailbreak.

Dodson’s escape marks the first for the Blue Ridge Regional Jail on Ninth Street since the authority took over its operations in 1998.

Dodson, of Sutherlin in Pittsylvania County, escaped from the custody of Pittsylvania authorities last year. He was being held in the Lynchburg facility awaiting transfer to a Virginia Department of Corrections prison to serve a seven-year, four-month sentence. He had been convicted of grand larceny, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and the revocation of a suspended sentence.

Statistics regarding escapes from local jails in Virginia are not tracked, said Deborah Cox, spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police.

The Virginia Department of Corrections does track escapes from its 37 prisons. The last time an inmate escaped from a state prison was in 2005 when two people made a jailbreak. From 2000 to 2007, only five escaped.

John Jones, director of the Virginia Sheriff’s Association, said he is unaware of any reporting requirements for jails, since the oversight for those facilities rests with the local sheriff’s office or in the Blue Ridge Regional Jail’s case, a regional authority.

“You can probably count on one hand how many have happened,” he said.

Dodson’s escape was discovered shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday when staff noticed bed sheets hanging from the side of the jail that faces Madison Street. Blackstock said Dodson managed to create the sheet rope, climb up about 25 feet, cut through some security screen and then shimmy down the sheet rope more than 100 feet to escape.

About 20 Lynchburg Police officers and two tracking dogs from the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and one from the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office began combing the streets in a three-mile radius of the jail.

Dodson’s criminal record in Pittsylvania County and Roanoke city includes convictions of statutory burglary, grand larceny of a firearm, felonious escape, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, of being a prisoner in possession of a weapon and property damage and grand larceny of an automobile.

Blackstock said jail authorities are reviewing the jailbreak and their procedures to determine how to prevent another escape.

The Blue Ridge Regional Jail is accredited by the Virginia Board of Corrections. Blackstone said the jail was recently inspected for compliance and received a 100 percent rating.

The Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority manages jails in Lynchburg, Bedford County, Moneta, Campbell County, and Halifax County. Officials from each jurisdiction serve on the authority’s boards. Other jurisdictions have jails operated by their local sheriff’s office.

Anyone with information on Dodson or his whereabouts is asked to call the Lynchburg Police Department at (434) 455-6041 or (434) 455-6121 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 798-5900 or 911.