Authorities are on the hunt for three inmates who escaped the Orange County Central Men's Jail in Santa Anna, California, last Friday.

Twenty-year-old Jonathan Tieu, 37-year-old Hossein Nayeri, and 43-year-old Bac Duong were reported missing from the maximum security facility after 9 p.m. on the night of Jan. 23, when they turned up absent during a headcount, The Los Angeles Times reports. Authorities have yet to locate the men.

The three inmates were being held in suspicion of a number of violent offenses, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and torture. They are presumed to be armed and extremely dangerous.

"We can only presume that these individuals wanted to get out of jail really bad and that they have armed themselves," Orange County Lt. Dave Sawyer said at a press conference.

Authorities said the inmates were present for the morning headcount at 5 a.m. on Friday, though it is now suspected they escaped shortly after that.

The men were in a holding tank with 68 other inmates. Somehow they managed to slip behind the beds in the cell and escape through a hole in the wall.

Using tools, the men cut through half inch steel bars after navigating the jail's plumbing system. Once they made it to the roof, the men rappelled to the ground with a rope made of cloth and bed sheets.

Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock said the escape had to have been planned for some time.

"We're talking about breaching, in some places, significant amounts of steel, rebar and metal," he said, according to KGTV San Diego.

An investigation is underway to determine if the men had any help from other inmates or prison personnel.

"We're going to take a look at everybody who may have been assigned there," Hallock said. "What I can assure you is that the compromises in security have been shored up."

A $50,000 reward has been offered in exchange for any information leading to the inmates capture.

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