North Carolina inmate accused of attempted murder escapes via ventilation system

An inmate escaped from a North Carolina jail through a ventilation system while his cellmates stuffed a mattress to make it seem like he was asleep, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

John Matthew Nigh, 37, was discovered missing from the county detention center at 4 p.m. Monday, and officials learned he had escaped by removing a grating and getting into a utility chase, the sheriff’s office said.

From there Nigh exited the roof through a ventilation housing, and he remains on the loose, it said in a statement.

Nigh, who records show served time in prison for burglary in Craven County, was arrested in nearby Onslow County in June for alleging shooting at deputies. He was booked in Craven County in December on charges of resisting police, according to authorities and online jail records.

The U.S. Marshals are assisting in the search for Nigh, and a statewide alert has been put out to law enforcement, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office said.

Nigh’s two cellmates are alleged to have helped him into the ceiling chase, which is a space above a ceiling that often houses ducts, and covering for him.

“The cellmates concealed his escape by stuffing a mattress, making it appear that he was sleeping in his cell,” the sheriff’s office said.

Court records did not appear accessible online for Craven and Onslow counties Tuesday night, and it was not clear if Nigh had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Nigh was arrested in Onslow County in June on charges of attempted murder after he allegedly fired a small-caliber handgun at Onslow County sheriff’s deputies, the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.

No one was hurt. The deputies were fired upon as they were trying to apprehend Nigh on warrants out of Pamlico County, including for breaking and entered into a car, the office said.

Nigh had recently been transferred to the jail in Craven County, which is near Onslow County, to face charges there, local ABC station WCTI-TV reported.

The Craven County Sheriff’s Office said Nigh should be considered armed and dangerous.