Manhunt: Georgia inmates kill 2 guards, carjack to freedom

Authorities launched a nationwide manhunt Tuesday after two Georgia inmates fatally shot two guards on a prison transport bus before carjacking their way to freedom.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said inmates Donnie Russell "Whiskey" Rowe, 43, and Ricky Dubose, 24, fled from the bus near Eatonton, about 70 miles southeast of Atlanta. Sills said investigators were trying to determine how the killers got out of the inmate cage and into the driver's compartment.

An emotional Sills said inmates overpowered, disarmed and shot the guards before escaping in a carjacked "grass green" 2004 Honda Civic. He said he feared the killers, armed with the officers' semiautomatic handguns, would kill again.

"I saw two brutally murdered corrections officers," Sills said at a press conference hours after the shootings. "I have their blood on my shoes."

The Honda driver told authorities he stopped when he saw the parked bus, and that the inmates robbed him at gunpoint, Sills said. The driver, who was unharmed and flagged down the next car for help, was considered a victim and not a part of the escape, Sills said.

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The bus had more than 30 inmates aboard, but no others fled the scene. Sills said some provided information to investigators. The bus was equipped with a surveillance camera; Sills indicated he had not seen the video but said it would not be released.

Dubose is serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery, aggravated assault and theft from a 2014 case. Rowe has been in prison since 2002 with convictions including armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime and aggravated assault.

“We are still desperately looking for these two individuals," Sill said, according to The Associated Press. "They are armed with 9 mm pistols that were taken from these correctional officers. They are dangerous beyond description. If anyone sees them or comes into contact, they need to call 911 immediately."

The corrections department identified the victims as Christopher Monica, 42, who began working there in 2009, and Curtis Billue, 58, who would have marked his 10th anniversary with the department next month.

"Remembering our two Baldwin State Prison officers tragically killed today," the department posted on Twitter.

Corrections Commissioner Greg Dozier described Monica and Billue as "great officers." He said the phone call alerting him to his death hit hard: "My heart is still in the soles of my shoes."

Dozier said the bus was en route from Baldwin to a diagnostic facility. He said two armed guards is standard protocol for such trips. Baldwin is a medium-security prison in Hardwick about 25 miles south of Eatonton.

Authorities urged people not to approach the men if seen, but to call 911. The U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were among agencies involved in the manhunt.

“Today, two families lost everything in a heinous and senseless act of violence perpetrated at the hands of cowards,” Gov. Nathan Deal said in a statement. "Our heartbreak is matched only in our resolve to bring their murderers to justice. No effort will be spared in pursuit of the killers, and no state resources required in this endeavor will be spared."

Contributing: Kristen Reed, WXIA-TV in Atlanta