Prison Locked Down After Warden Loses Keys

(Jacksonville, Ill. -WABC, Sept. 19, 2005) (WABC) -- Losing your keys can certainly be a pain, but this worse: after an an assistant warden lost a set of keys, prisoners at the Jacksonville Correctional Center had to spend four days on lockdown.

It was a set of about ten keys, including a master key that opens doors to cell houses and two prison wings. The keys were still missing last week.

After a search failed to turn up the keys, the institution of 1,400 male inmates was locked down from Sept. 9-12.

"We don't believe this poses a serious threat to the safety of the facility," Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Sergio Molina said.

The keys were not necessarily lost at the prison and could be taken home. They could have been lost between April 8 and Sept. 9, Molina said.

An assistant warden had given the keys to another employee on April 8 because he was being temporarily reassigned to the department's headquarters, Molina said.

Both employees remained on the job. The department was investigating and disciplinary action was possible, Molina said.

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