The Latest: 2 inmates escaped jail through hole in ceiling

MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) -- The Latest on two inmates accused of murder who escaped from a California jail (all times local):

3:15 p.m.

Authorities say two inmates accused of murder escaped a central California jail over the weekend through a hole they made in a bathroom ceiling that's in a blind spot from the guards.

Monterey County sheriff's Capt. John Thornburg said Monday that 21-year-old Santos Fonseca and 20-year-old Jonathan Salazar climbed through the hole measuring about 8 inches (20 centimeters) tall and 22 inches (56 centimeters) wide, slipped into the walls of the county jail and made it outside Sunday.

Once inside the wall, the inmates climbed past ducts and pipes in a maintenance access area and were able to open a hatch and escape.

Thornburg says the outdoor area was covered in construction fencing, rather than security fencing with barbed wire, and the two could climb it to flee the jail grounds.

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11 a.m.

Officials are trying to find out how two men charged with murder were able to escape from a central California jail.

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office warned that the fugitives should be considered dangerous. Authorities gave no other details on how they broke out of jail in the city of Salinas early Sunday.

Authorities say 21-year-old Santos Fonseca and 20-year-old Jonathan Salazar had been behind bars since 2018 and were awaiting trial on murder counts and "numerous other felony charges" in separate cases.

The Californian newspaper in Salinas reports that Fonseca is accused of killing two men in two different shootings in June 2018.

The newspaper says Salazar was arrested in the shooting death of man who was driving with his girlfriend and young son in October 2017.