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Three teenage girls are safe Thursday morning after escaping from a north county home where they were being forced to work as prostitutes.  

Police say two of the teens escaped through a bedroom window while the man accused of holding them slept.  They called for help a few blocks away, telling police they didn't want to go far, because another teen, a 16 year old girl, was still being held in the home.  Police found her when they arrested Anton Morris.

St. Louis County prosecutors have charged Morris with several crimes, including sexual trafficking of a child.  He's jailed on a 100-thousand dollar bond.

Three jail escapees are back in custody.

Authorities found the three on Tuesday afternoon in a scrap yard where one of the men used to work. Matthew Cook, Kade Stringfellow, and Rodney Green escaped from the Butler County Jail by crawling out through the ceiling. After escaping, the men had to walk about five miles to get to the scrap yard. Cook and Stringfellow were being held on unrelated murder charges, while Green was accused of taking part in a violent home invasion.

No word on any additional charges after the escape attempt.

 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Law enforcement officers are looking for a Springfield man who managed to escape a patrol car while in handcuffs.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 31-year-old Nicholas Ray Gamblin fled last Wednesday. He was in the patrol car after being taken into custody for allegedly stealing a truck and gathering chemicals to make methamphetamine.

 Patrol spokesman Sgt. Jason Pace says the officer double locked the handcuffs behind Gamblin's back and put him in the front seat of the patrol car.

Gamblin fled when the trooper began searching the pickup truck.

The Springfield News-Leader reports an in-car camera showed the man turned around in the seat, opened the door behind his back and ran from the vehicle.