Two women escaped an Ohio correctional facility after using a robe to get across razor wire and jumping from a roof, the facility’s executive director explained in a televised interview. Their escape ended with arrests the following evening.
Hope Skerrett and Kerriah Ohler left the Stark Regional Community Correction Center in Louisville on October 12, 2026. The escape was discovered shortly before 7 p.m., according to News 5’s reporting based on Canton Police documents.
Responding officers initially faced the possibility that the women were still on the roof. A drone was used to check it, but only a pair of tennis shoes were found there as the search moved into a nearby nature preserve.
The center houses adults sentenced through courts in four Ohio counties and combines confinement with treatment. Its rules allow residents to leave on approved passes for certain activities, but the women’s departure was unauthorized, executive director Mike Beebe explained in the television report.
Over the Wire
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Beebe described the women throwing the robe over the razor ribbon, climbing a fence, passing through the wire, and reaching the roof before jumping down. The garment was intended to protect them against cuts.
“I think it was extremely bold and extremely daring. That razor ribbon is extremely sharp,” Beebe said.
In a 911 recording included in the television report, a caller reported that one of the women had been cut.
Canton Police said staff discovered the women were missing while closing the outdoor area for the evening. A shoe was found outside the fence, and the robe remained draped over the razor wire. Staff contacted police within approximately 20 minutes of discovering the escape.
Officers searching the nearby Fairhope Nature Preserve with a police dog found discarded dark clothing, but the initial search did not locate either woman.
A Different Address
The correction center’s website describes a 180-day program serving Holmes, Stark, Tuscarawas, and Wayne counties. Residents progress through orientation, life skills, community transition, and pre-release phases, with privileges increasing as they complete each phase. Progress depends on participation, behavior, and compliance with facility rules.
The facility’s resident handbook explains that approved passes require residents to follow specific itineraries, remain in contact with staff, and return at designated times. Social passes are available only to residents who have reached the pre-release phase.
Skerrett had been sent to the center following a felony breaking-and-entering conviction and probation revocation in Stark County. Court records reviewed by Cleveland 19 also show felony drug charges in her earlier case. Ohler had been convicted of felony failure to comply with a police officer in Tuscarawas County.
The search ended October 13 in Dover, where the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Skerrett and Ohler in the 600 block of Race Street. Their hiding place was considerably less conventional than the address suggested.
Dover Police Captain Michelle Seibert told WTUZ that marshals received a tip from a man renting an apartment at the location. Dover officers joined the marshals and used a police dog to search the residence.
The dog located both women in the basement, where they had concealed themselves in a dirt-covered opening near the foundation. Seibert said they surrendered without incident, and neither woman was injured during the arrest.
Both were transported to Stark County Jail.
On October 15, Skerrett and Ohler appeared in Canton Municipal Court and pleaded not guilty to third-degree felony escape charges. Bond was set at $150,000 for each woman, with their next court appearance scheduled for October 19.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.