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140 stories matching jailer
- The Jailbreak That Failed at Lake Union
A failed escape attempt by three young prisoners leaves a jailer with a gun, a missing saw, and a mystery about who was smuggling tools to the jailbirds.
- Bloody Jailbreak at Walla Walla
Two prisoners pull off a brutal escape, leaving a sheriff and jailer wounded as a citizens' committee takes up the hunt.
- Jailbreak in Montesano
Two prisoners assault a deputy sheriff and escape into the woods, leaving the jailer senseless.
- Locked in the Slammer
A Seattle lawyer gets a rude awakening after being accidentally locked in the city jail while visiting his client.
- The Jailer’s Mysterious Absence
A police inquiry into the escape of a prisoner who slipped away while his guard was supposedly busy with locksmiths.
- The Jailer and the Cell: A Brutal Scuffle in 1891
A repeat offender turns the city jail into a ring for a violent, bloody showdown with his longtime adversary, the jailer.
- The Jailhouse Mimic
A soft-hearted jailer is driven to madness by what he assumes is a distressed feline, only to find a prankster in a cell.
- Jailer Accused of Aiding Prisoner’s Escape in Tacoma
A jail cook alleges that a jailer pressured him to flee during an administrative transition, raising questions about a recent high-profile escape.
- The Jailer Lost the Key
A murder trial in Kitsap County is stalled after a clumsy jailer heads downtown with the only key to the prisoner's cell.
- The Jailer and the Sheriff’s Keys
A power struggle inside the King County jail ends in a public firing after a suspicious security lapse involving lost keys and unauthorized visitors.
- Neglect of Duty Leads to Jailbreak
A night jailer is suspended for ten days after a lapse in security allows an inmate to escape the city jail.
- The Jailer’s Blunder and a Quick Escape
Three prisoners in the Yakima county jail staged a daring, if temporary, breakout after a jailer accidentally left their cell door unlocked.
- Polly Noble’s Great Escape
A City Jailer's pet parrot, known for her conversational skills, escaped to the rooftops after being spooked by a neighborhood dog.
- A Violent Prison Break in Early Seattle
A brutal struggle erupts in the King County jail as desperate inmates ambush the jailer in a failed escape attempt.
- Jailer's Rounds Foil Burglars Digging Through Cell Wall
Two burglars nearly tunneled out of the King County Jail, thwarted only by a sharp-eared jailer and an unfortunate musical choice.
- The Jailhouse Scuffle
A drunken brawl in a jail cell turns into a messy confrontation between a prisoner and the jailer.
- A Logger's Desperate Night in Jail
After his arrest for drunkenness, a logger named William Kirk suffered a mental health crisis while in custody.
- The Jailer’s Eyes: A Daring Escape in Montesano
A desperate jailbreak in Grays Harbor County ends with a jailer sidelined by flea powder and a daring dash into the woods.
- Divorce and 'Big Bertha': A Jailer’s Scandals
After 34 years of marriage, Louisa Bogart sues her husband, a former city jailer, alleging cruelty and infidelity.
- The Jailbreak That Almost Was: A Struggle for Freedom in Port Townsend
In a dramatic afternoon at the Clallam County jail, five prisoners attempted to overpower the keeper with an axe and a garrote-style choke. Jailer Furlong’s quick draw saved the day.
- Daring Escape from the County Jail
Two prisoners blinded the jailer with a chemical powder before stealing his weapon and vanishing into the woods.
- The Jailhouse Gas Leak Incident
A young woman suffering from a mental health crisis dismantles jail plumbing in a desperate attempt to end her life.
- The Jailbreak on Commercial Street
A clever prisoner manages to pick the lock of his cell and slip away into the night, leaving the sheriff scrambling for a lead.
- The Jailer's Secret Cache
When nine prisoners attempted a daring escape from the Pierce County Jail, they left behind a strange assortment of contraband that revealed their desperate ingenuity.
- The Jailbreak Plot That Rocked the County Jail
A notorious gambler and blackmailer led a group of dangerous inmates in a scheme to seize the jailer and escape through the steel tank.
Also about this, in other words
- The Jailer's Warning: A Courthouse Anecdote
A lawyer recounts his early, struggling days at the Seattle courthouse and the amusingly grim reality of defending clients who were clearly destined for Walla Walla.
- The Saw and the Jailer
A petty thief's daring attempt to escape the county jail ends in a swift, unsuccessful pursuit.
- Seattle's Jail Was Overcrowded and Waiting on Steel Cells from St. Louis
Sheriff Winger held eleven prisoners in the county jail, including four sailors and two Puyallup men sentenced for assault, while unfit close cells had to be used until new steel cells arrived.
- Inside the New King County Jail
A detailed look at the 'infallible' brick and iron lockup built to replace older, makeshift holding cells in 1870s Seattle.
- The Unlikely Bond Between a Convict and His Keeper
A rare glimpse of humanity inside the grim walls of a frontier jail, where a long-term prisoner and the man paid to guard him found a surprising connection.
- The Jailbird Who Refused to Leave
After serving sixty days for grand larceny, a Seattle man found freedom so underwhelming that he immediately tried to steal his way back into a cell.
- The Shackles of King County
An editorial plea for a new courthouse and jail to address the 'barbarous' conditions for prisoners, the insane, and the public.
- The Condemned Murderer Who Ran the Jailhouse Court
Thomas Blanck, awaiting execution for murder, was unanimously elected to preside over the county jail's prisoner-run tribunal—complete with fines, lashes, and a Bible in his cell.