Two Escape Hopkins County Jail

A manhunt is under way for two prisoners, including one awaiting trial on a capital murder charge, who escaped from the Hopkins County Jail on Tuesday morning.

Police are looking for Brian Allen Tucker, 44, of Sulphur Springs, and John Marlin King, 39, of Cumby.

NBC 5 has learned the pair squeezed through a gate and headed east before shedding their prison clothing near railroad tracks behind the sheriff's office. Police said they believe the men are wearing white T-shirts and white boxer shorts.

Police urge anyone living in the area to be on high guard and look for anything out of the ordinary since the men may be looking for clothing. Police advice if you see the two men to not let them approach and call 911.

Deputy Alvin Jordan said sheriff's deputies were searching nearby woods and had set up a perimeter around where the men are believed to be hiding. Police used dogs on the ground and searched by helicopter for the escapees.

Jordan said there was one possible sighting of a man in a white T-shirt and boxers going over a fence in the area.

Hopkins County Sheriff Butch Adams told NBC 5 that the jail has a lot of maintenance issues and that the jail is a little overcrowded. He added that officials are contacting anyone in the area who might know the men.

Adams also said that the search led them to a brush pile northeast of the jail where footprints were found, but there is still no sign of Tucker or King.

Tucker was being held on $1 million bond in the 2011 death of Bobby Riley of Mahoney. Riley was strangled in his home and some musical instruments and firearms had been stolen.

King was being held on an evading arrest charge and was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Monday for a probation violation.

On Tuesday night, authorities using an infrared camera, picked up to a source of heat in a wooded area. A SWAT team moved in, but did not find anyone.

Authorities will continue to monitor roads and keep patrols out searching for the escapees.

Nine schools in Sulphur Springs, as well as the airport, were locked down during the search for the pair. Campuses were dismissed at 3:15, but school officials said no children would be allowed to walk home. Students who regularly walk home were held at school until their parents picked them up.

Students on bus routes 2, 13, 18, 46 and 60 must be met by parents at the bus stop. Parents were contacted about the dismissal plans, with the children of those who couldn't be reached kept at school. School practices and activities continued on their regular schedules.