Authorities: 2 murder suspects escape from California jail

November 3, 2019 GMT
These undated photos provided by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office show inmates Santos Fonseca, left and Jonathan Salazar, right, who escaped from from Monterey County Jail Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019. Authorities say the two murder suspects have escaped from central California's Monterey County Jail. (Monterey County Sheriff's Office via AP)
These undated photos provided by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office show inmates Santos Fonseca, left and Jonathan Salazar, right, who escaped from from Monterey County Jail Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019. Authorities say the two murder suspects have escaped from central California's Monterey County Jail. (Monterey County Sheriff's Office via AP)

MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) — Two murder suspects escaped Sunday from a central California jail and officials were trying to determine how the men managed to get away.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office warned the public the men should be considered dangerous.

The escape from the county’s Adult Detention Facility occurred in the early morning, according to the sheriff’s office.

Santos Fonseca and Jonathan Salazar, both 19, had been in custody since 2018 and were awaiting trial on unrelated murder counts “along with numerous other felony charges,” a sheriff’s statement said.

“An investigation is underway to determine their means of escape but, at this time, we can provide no details on that topic,” the statement said. “Our focus, and resources, are dedicated to locating and returning Fonseca and Salazar to custody.”

Both men are five-feet-seven-inches (1.7 meters) tall. Fonseca weighs 150 pounds (68 kilograms) and Salazar weighs 170 pounds (77 kilograms). They each have black hair and brown eyes.

Monterey is a city of about 28,000 people on California’s central coast, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of San Francisco.