Three inmates who escaped from the Effingham County Jail Thursday afternoon were recaptured quickly and are back in custody.

At approximately 3 p.m., deputies observed three inmates run out of the back gate at the Effingham County Jail into a wooded area between First Street and Third Street in Springfield. Deputies, along with several are law enforcement agencies, immediately set up a perimeter. All three inmates were apprehended in the wooded area within less than an hour after the escape.

The inmates who escaped have been identified as Jason Grantham, 24, of Tybee Island, Justin Lewis, 21, of Bloomingdale, and Daniel Jeffers, 21, of Bloomingdale.

For the complete story, see Friday's edition of the Effingham Herald.