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The FBI has offered the public a reward for any information leading to the arrest of any of the nine inmates who escaped a prison yesterday.

Officials discovered the inmates missing during a routine head count at the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans at around 8:30am Friday. Sheriff Susan Hutson said at a news conference, calling it a "very serious and unacceptable situation."

Initial reports indicated that 11 men had escaped, but officials later clarified one of the inmates had recently been moved to another cell and was mistakenly included in the count. So far only one inmate has been captured, the inmates that remain at large include at least three , and several people convicted of attempted .

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said his department was working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to search for the escapees, adding: "We are launching a full investigation to determine how this escape occurred, including reviewing facility protocols, staff performance and physical security measures."

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A photograph shared by local media in Louisiana shows the hole where prisoners are understood to have escaped overnight. The image shows the large gap in the wall accompanied by a string of taunts targeted at prison guards, including: “To Easy LOL,” “Catch us when you can,” “We innocent,” “Most Hated,” along with some explicit messages.

One of the escapees, Kendell Myles, was apprehended Friday afternoon in the French Quarter, hiding beneath a car in a hotel parking garage. Myles is charged with attempted second-degree murder, .

The New Orleans FBI has now confirmed a rerward is bing offered for anyone who can provide information that may lad to their capture. Writing on X the official account wrote: "The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of any of the inmates."

In a press conference this afternoon, New Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said faulty locks had allowed inmates to escape their cells - and it should be "almost impossible for anyone to get out of this facility without help from the outside."

She told reporters: "Folks are normally locked down in this facility at 10.30pm, but these folks who were able to get out did so because of defective locks on the cells.

"I've talked about those locks since I've got into office", she added, stressing that she believed there were "deficiencies in these facilities that cause public safety concerns."

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, has questioned why it took so long for officials at the prison to realise the inmates had escaped. She told Fox News that while the 11 inmates were understood to have escaped "around midnight", it was not until a bed check the next morning that guards discovered several men were missing.

Mrs Murrill added: "That gap in the reporting time is extremely concerning. It's my understanding that they were identified as missing at a bed check, so there is a discrepancy... in terms of when they were identified as missing and when law enforcement were notified."

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