Inmate escapes after guard transporting prisoners stops at casino in St. Louis

A driver for a Texas private security company was fired Wednesday after an inmate escaped while the driver slept at the Casino Queen hotel in East St. Louis, Illinois.

According to our news partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the driver was transporting two men from Oklahoma to Texas but drove several hundred miles out of the way to visit Illinois.

The driver and the two inmates checked into the hotel around 10 p.m. Sunday. The driver woke up less than an hour later to find the inmate gone.

It’s still unclear why the driver, Lamont Henderson, traveled all the way to East St. Louis. He told police he was scheduled to meet a supervisor in the area on Monday, but authorities are still investigating those claims.

FLORIDA INMATE PROMISES HITMAN $15G, SPORTS CAR TO KILL CHILD VICTIM: COPS

A spokesperson for the East St. Louis Police Department said officers are searching for the missing inmate, identified as 33-year-old Brian Jordan.

Henderson didn’t call the police for several hours after discovering Jordan was missing. He said he was looking for the escaped inmate.

Security cameras at the hotel caught Jordan walking into the parking lot around 1:30 a.m. Monday. He took a cellphone and clothing from the transport van and then walked in the direction of the Eads Bridge.

Henderson also informed police that Jordan stole $5,200 in cash that he had in a satchel. Police are investigating why Henderson had such a large amount of cash with him.