Two North Carolina inmates escaped from a problem-ridden jail. What’s Vance County doing about it?

Inspection records obtained by WRAL Investigates note broken or missing locks, defective doors, insufficient supervision rounds and holes in walls at the Vance County Jail.

On Wednesday afternoon, two inmates escaped the jail: Michael Miles and LiShawn Knott. The week prior, a woman told WRAL she reported concerns about the condition of the jail.

Sheriff Curtis Brame has pushed county commissioners to invest in a new facility for years.

According to preliminary design documents shared with commissioners, a new 300-bed detention center will cost the county more than $70 million. Previous estimates were around $55 million.

“If we do that …we have no choice …that's another eight-cent [property] tax increase in order to meet the needs,” Vance County Commissioner Leo Kelly Jr. said during Monday night’s meeting.

Vance County leaders have not selected a new site yet.

The county is working to secure a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay for the project.

By the end of the meeting, the board agreed, in a 5-2 vote, to set aside $3.4 million for the jail in a capital reserve fund as part of its budget.

As of Dec. 16, 2025, the jail housed 64 inmates, according to state inspection records. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services forced the county to move inmates to other facilities due to understaffing and unsafe conditions.

“We spend $2 million of your tax money every year transporting people,” Kelly said Monday.

A Vance County Jail employee spoke with WRAL Investigates under the condition of anonymity. The employee said they were not surprised when they learned of the jail break. The employee does not know how the inmates escaped.

“My first thought as a correctional officer [is] that somebody called somebody on the outside, set up a plan,” the employee said. “It had to have been a phone call or a video chat; those are not monitored …we don't have somebody that sits there every day monitoring their phone calls.”

WRAL Investigates has been covering issues at the jail dating back to at least 2022.

In North Carolina, jail inspections are required at least twice a year. Documents show officials inspected the facility three times in 2025: in March, June and December.

By the last inspection of the year, conditions seemed to improve.

The worst issues of broken or missing locks, defective doors, and holes in walls were noted in both the March and June inspection reports.

By December, the inspector's notes focused on insufficient documents regarding supervision and a fire alarm system that was not fully operational.

It’s not clear what improvements have been made since December. However, the jail inspector accepted the sheriff’s plan of correction. WRAL Investigates has requested that plan, as well.

WRAL Investigates reached out to every commissioner via email, asking:

• What features do you want to see in a new jail?
• What do you want to see happen at the current facility?
• Why has it taken so long to make progress towards a new jail?
• What's your message to citizens concerned about the safety of the jail and how that affects their neighborhoods/communities?

Only Valencia Perry responded, but she did not directly answer our questions.

In an email, she wrote, “I am [a] local government official and the key is doing what is best for the citizens of this county.” She cited public safety as a top concern.

The employee said they believe the cost of the project is the main reason for the seemingly sluggish process.

“I think the county should have done better, knowing the situation of the jail,” the employee said. “If they wanted it fixed, there is a way to fix it, but they had to dish out a lot of money to do so.”