3 Violent Inmates Escape From Ind. Prison

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- Two convicted murderers and a rapist escaped Sunday from the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, officials said.

The offenders, who were noticed to be missing at 10 a.m., likely escaped by getting past the bars in the tunnels and pipe chases under the grounds, prison officials said.

Lance Battreal, 45, of Rockport; Charles Smith, 48, of New Castle; and Mark Booher, 46, of New Castle, each had more than 30 years left on their sentences.

All three are described as white, with Battreal and Smith thought to have cut their hair or shaved their heads recently. Smith has a tattoo of a scorpion on his right hand and a cross with dots on his left hand.

Smith was sentenced in 1999 to 95 years for murder, while Booher was sentenced the same year to 85 years for murder and robbery.

Battreal was sentenced in 1998 to 73 years for rape, criminal confinement and stalking for assaulting an Evansville girl while threatening her with a hammer.

All three men should be considered dangerous, prison officials said. Anyone with information about their whereabouts should call 911.