FREMONT — It wasn’t the first time a Sandusky County jail inmate escaped through an unlocked emergency door in the prison’s outdoor recreation area.

That’s how two inmates, Mickey M. Hardy, 37, and Jordan M. Chapman, 26, ran from the facility located at 2323 Country Side Drive in Fremont on Monday. The search for the two continued Tuesday.

“There was a mechanical failure in one of our doors in our outdoor [recreation] area, and it was just one of those things that they took advantage of a bad situation,” said Sandusky County Sheriff Chris Hilton.

In 2016, an inmate escaped from the same door.

The recreation area is an outdoor space for prisoners, though it is enclosed with 20-foot concrete walls.

The space has an emergency door, but officials said they believe the door’s lock was faulty when the escape occurred Monday.

“It was not a coordinated event. It was a crime of opportunity,” the sheriff said.

Officials are looking into why the door was not checked before the prisoners went out to the recreation area.

The two inmates, who wore white T-shirts and orange pants, exited the emergency door and scaled a fence about 2:30 p.m. Monday. They ran through a corn field and crossed Castalia Street before staff lost sight of them, Chief Deputy Ed Hastings said.

In March, 2016, Nicholas Maldonado escaped the jail using the same door. He was captured about an hour later, officials said. That incident occurred under the watch of disgraced former Sheriff Kyle Overmyer. Overmyer is serving a prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in November to more than a dozen felonies related to stealing drugs and public funds.

Since Monday’s escape, the door has been fixed and recreation privileges have been suspended for prisoners, Chief Deputy Hastings said.

Dana Filliater, of the 1300 block of Castalia Road, said she thought twice about wearing her headphones while mowing her grass on Tuesday.

“We’re separated by a corn field. When the corn is low, we see the jail, the JDC [Juvenile Detention Center]. ... It’s literally in our backyard,” she said.

Mrs. Filliater said heavy police presence well into Monday evening reassured her family.

“We feel safe, we really do in Fremont,” she said.

Authorities used drones, helicopters, and dogs as they searched. The Ohio Highway Patrol, U.S. Border Patrol, and Fremont police assisted. The search continued Tuesday, but officials declined to specify where they were searching.

“The sheriff we have now is really on top of things,” Mrs. Filliater said. “Since he’s taken office, we’ve seen a lot happen for the good.”

As of Tuesday, the two men were believed to be in Sandusky County.

Chapman was booked into jail June 23 on multiple charges of receiving stolen property, and charges of obstruction, having a weapon under disability, and a parole violation, according to the jail’s online inmate data base.

Hardy was booked into jail July 6 on aggravated menacing and burglary charges, according to the online database. He’s also facing a charge for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

It is unknown if the two knew each other before they were booked in the jail.

The sheriff said the U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to each man’s capture. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sandusky County Dispatch Center at 419-332-6433.

Contact Allison Reamer at areamer@theblade.com, 419-724-6506 or on Twitter @AllisonRBlade.

First Published July 19, 2017, 4:00 a.m.