Prisoners escape near Idaho/Montana border

Three prisoners escaped from a work crew east of the Avery Ranger Station in north central Idaho late Sunday or early Monday, and the Idaho Department of Correction is asking for help finding them. Garry G. Layman, 36; Matthew S. Harris, 26; and Jeffrey Anthony Whipple, 46; were last seen about 8:15 p.m. Sunday and were discovered missing Monday morning, according to a news release. The minimum-security inmates were assigned to the Givens Hall Work Camp at the Idaho Correctional Institution in Orofino as part of a 10-person crew tasked with building and repairing trails near the Montana border. Layman and Harris were eligible for release this December on burglary charges out of Bannock County; Whipple was eligible for parole this September on a conviction for possession of a weapon in Kootenai County, according to the DOC.