Another inmate escapes from jail — second in two months

HARTINGTON — A Laurel man escaped from Cedar County Jail and allegedly stole an ATV near Hartington to make his getaway.

Jackson Metheny, 26, faces felony charges of escape and theft from the latest incident on Oct. 22.

He has been arrested several times in the last few months and at the time of his escape had been booked on charges of stalking and violation of a protection order.

Prior to that, Metheny had been granted a personal recognizance bond on suspicion of assaulting a jailer, criminal trespassing and disturbing the peace.

After escaping, Metheny allegedly rode a stolen ATV past the home of the alleged victim of the stalking and protection order case. It’s also alleged that he went to his residence, changed out his jail uniform and advised his parents that he was going to take his truck and leave the state.

The Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, Dixon County Sheriff’s Office and Nebraska State Patrol worked together to locate Metheny about two hours after his escape. He was located in an outbuilding at a rural Wayne residence in Dixon County and was ordered out of the building at gunpoint. He was taken back into custody and back to Cedar County jail.

Court documents do not detail how Metheny was able to escape. Sheriff Larry Koranda said his escape is still under investigation.

In September, a woman was able to escape from the Cedar County Jail after she pushed past a jailer serving her breakfast. Samantha Fredericksen, 32, Sioux City, Iowa, then stole a vehicle owned by Cedar County Emergency Management and lead law enforcement on a pursuit through two counties.

In that case, Cedar County and Wayne County sheriff’s offices and the Nebraska State Patrol were able to apprehend her and take her into custody a short time after she escaped.

“We’re reviewing some policies and looking into if it was human error or mechanical error,” Koranda said. “We’re still working on that.”