BUTLER, Alabama -- Law enforcement officials are searching for three men who escaped from a Choctaw County jail early Saturday, according to a report by the Choctaw Sun-Advocate. 
 
 After searching the immediate area around Butler, a city of about 2,000 residents in southwest Alabama, authorities have expanded the search for the three men -- Demarcus Woodard, 23; Germayel Culbert, 32; and Justin Terrell Gordon, 23, -- to other areas. 
 
 Both Woodard and Culbert were jailed for murder charges, and Gordon is charged for an armed robbery. 
 
 In a brief phone interview, Choctaw County Sheriff Tom Abate said the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service are assisting in the search. 
 
 "I've got three bad inmates, two capital murders and one armed robber, who are on foot. They took off from the jail," Abate said, adding he didn't have time to discuss the matter further. 
 
 According to a report from CNN this morning, authorities are looking for capital murder defendants Demarcus Woodward, 23, who is accused of killing a work release inmate, and Culbert, who allegedly participated in the killing of two people in a separate incident. 
 
 And Gordon was involved with the alleged armed robbery of a convenience store, according to the report 
 
 The inmates in the cell attacked the guard by choking him and stole his keys and cell phone before running away, Abate told CNN. 
 
 Tracking dogs led law enforcement about a quarter-mile along State Highway 17 in Butler, according to the report. Abate said he believes they got into a vehicle at that point. 
 
 The jail guard was treated and released at a local hospital, the sheriff told CNN. 
 
 Police urge anyone with information to call the Choctaw County Sheriff's Department at (205) 459-2166. 
 
 Reporter Martin Reed contributed to this report. 
 
 This report will be updated as more information becomes available. ||||| Story highlights State Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals involved in the manhunt 
 
 3 inmates are held in one cell; 1 screams, says another is sick, sheriff says 
 
 The inmates jump a jailer, then fled on foot, the Choctaw County Sheriff adds 
 
 The jailer, who was allegedly choked, was treated at a nearby hospital, he says 
 
 Two men charged with murder and another being held on armed robbery charges escaped early Saturday from a rural Alabama county jail, a local sheriff said. 
 
 The three were locked down together in a single cell around 2 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) when one started screaming, saying another of them was very sick, Choctaw County Sheriff Tom Abate said. The jailer looked through a porthole, saw someone vomiting, then opened the cell door. 
 
 When he did, the inmates jumped the jailer, stole his keys and cell phone, then fled on foot, according to Abate. 
 
 Local authorities using tracking dogs tracked the escaped inmates about one-quarter mile away down State Highway 17 in Butler, Alabama, where Abate said they were either picked up or had a vehicle waiting for them. 
 
 The two escapees who were being held on capital murder charges, for separate incidents, are 23-year-old Demarcus Woodward for allegedly fatally shooting a work release inmate and 32-year-old Gemayel Culbert for his involvement in the killing of two people at a private club in northern Choctaw County. The other escapee is Terrell Gordon, 23, who is charged with armed robbery in connection with a convenience store theft. 
 
 Alabama's state Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals from Mobile and local authorities all have roles in the manhunt. 
 
 The jailer who these inmates allegedly choked was treated and released at an area hospital, Abate said Saturday morning. 
 
 Choctaw County, with population of fewer than 14,000, is in southwestern Alabama, bordering Mississippi. ||||| A two-day manhunt that had the South on edge came to a close Thursday after two Georgia inmates who allegedly shot and killed two correctional officers were captured off a highway in Tennessee. 
 
 Ricky Dubose, 24, and Donnie Rowe, 43, escaped Baldwin State Prison on Tuesday morning after they overpowered and shot two correctional officers — Christopher Monica, 42, and Curtis Billue, 58 — with their own guns while the prisoners were being moved to another facility via a transport bus. 
 
 Play Facebook 
 
 Twitter 
 
 Embed Escaped Georgia Inmates Captured in Tennessee 2:15 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog 
 
 They were captured at a home off Interstate 24 after a high-speed car chase that included an exchange of gunfire — an estimated 20 shots. The fugitives escaped into the woodline Thursday evening but were later held at gunpoint by a local man when they tried to steal his car, a spokesman for Tennessee Highway Patrol said. 
 
 Georgia Corrections Commissioner Greg Dozier confirmed the capture in a statement. 
 
 "We are relieved to know that these two dangerous individuals have been taken off the streets, and the public is out of harm's way,” Dozier said. "They will be brought to justice swiftly for their heinous crime against our Officers." 
 
 Authorities reported that the trail had gone cold after a series of false sightings in South Carolina on Wednesday. In response, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI joined forces to offer a reward that grew to $130,000 for information that led to an arrest. 
 
 Escaped inmates Ricky Dubose and Donnie Rowe are seen after their capture. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 
 
 Before the capture, a lead developed when a couple in Shelbyville, Tennessee, reported that they had been tied up in their home by the escaped inmates, Bedford County Sheriff Austin Swing told NBC affiliate WSMV. 
 
 Dubose and Rowe put guns to the the couple's heads and threatened their lives, ate soup in their house and stole their clothing and valuables before leaving after about three hours in the couple's black Jeep Cherokee, Swing said. 
 
 According to Swing, the escaped convicts intended to take the woman with them, but decided against it. They gagged and tied her up, bound the man with belts and put socks on his hands so he wouldn't be able to use his fingers, he said. The couple were able to untie themselves later and call police. 
 
 "They are extremely traumatized," Swing said. "I know both of them — great people — but they are extremely traumatized. Thankfully, they have some family here with them, so they're dealing with it now." 
 
 Escaped inmates Ricky Dubose, left, and Donnie Russell Rowe. Georgia Department of Corrections 
 
 Later that evening, police attempted to stop the car that Row and Dubose were driving on Interstate 24. The two men fired 20 shots at police during the high-speed chase, but only hit the frames of the police cars. The escapees wrecked the car, got out and fled on foot into the woods, authorities said. 
 
 According to authorities, the two men ran on foot into the woods where they momentarily lost police. They came upon a home where they attempted to steal a car, but the homeowner came outside and held the fugitives at gunpoint until a neighbor came to assist. Police were then called and arrested the two men. 
 
 Steve Emmett, a spokesman for the Atlanta field office of the FBI, confirmed to NBC News that the two inmates were in custody. 
 
 The FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives collaborated with the GBI in response to the convicts' escape. 
 
 The highway where the car was stopped remained a crime scene Thursday evening, causing traffic to back up for several miles, according to WSMV.
– The search is on in Alabama after two men charged with murder and another charged with armed robbery escaped their shared prison cell. Prior to the escape, one of the three began shouting in the cell, saying a cellmate was ill, the Choctaw County sheriff says. A guard checked up on them to find that one was throwing up, CNN reports. He opened the cell door, and the men attacked him, grabbing his keys and cell phone, the sheriff says. The guard was hospitalized and released after allegedly being choked. Now, authorities are looking for Demarcus Woodard, 23, Gemayel Culbert, 32, and Justin Terrell Gordon, 23, the Choctaw Sun-Advocate reports. "I've got three bad inmates, two capital murders and one armed robber, who are on foot," the sheriff tells AL.com. Dogs followed a trail to a highway near the prison, where officials think the men may have been picked up.