Hamilton County Sheriff's Office corrections personnel conducting a routine patrol of the property at Silverdale Detention Center on Tuesday morning located a section of the outer perimeter fence that had been cut. Once the damage was located, the inmates at Silverdale Detention Center were immediately placed on lock-down and a head count was conducted.
A facility-wide headcount has been completed and all inmates are accounted for at this time, officials said.
The HCSO Criminal Investigation Division is currently investigating the damage to the outer perimeter fence and how it occurred.
At this time, it is unclear whether this incident was an attempt to escape or a means of smuggling contraband into the facility.
Since the transition of the Silverdale Detention Center from CoreCivic on Dec. 30, corrections and law enforcement personnel have conducted several searches throughout the facility and have located illegal contraband and weapons, including over 30 edged weapons and numerous illegal narcotics, it was stated.
Chief Deputy Austin Garrett said, "This type of criminal activity risks the safety and well-being of our personnel and the inmates in our charge and will not be tolerated. This incident reinforces our ongoing efforts to prevent inmate escapes and the smuggling of weapons and contraband into the facility.
"As part of our continued efforts to strengthen security measures, we are in the process of installing additional perimeter fencing and surveillance based technology facility-wide.”