Police: 2 Escaped Inmates Tried to Kidnap Mayor

Two men who escaped a Kansas prison were charged Saturday with trying to kidnap the mayor and ambush the police department of the small Missouri town where they were captured earlier in the day. Allen M. Hurst, 31, and Scott A. Gilbert, 49, allegedly escaped from the Lansing, Kansas Correctional Facility on Friday and then stole a pickup truck. They led law enforcement officials on a 30-minute chase across the Missouri River. Police said the men briefly stopped the truck and pointed a gun at Edgarton Mayor James Snook Jr. before ordering Snook to get in the truck. Snook declined and fled. A third inmate also attempted to escape but was apprehended. It’s still unclear how they escaped.