3 California inmates pulled off an unreal escape from a maximum-security jail using bedsheets

Three California inmates escaped from a maximum-security prison in Southern California on Friday after cutting through half-inch steel bars and rappelling down the side of the building using their bed sheets.

The inmates, Jonathan Tieu, Hossein Nayeri, and Bac Duong, were detained at the Orange County jail in Santa Ana, California. The three are thought to have escaped from the prison at some point on Friday after the 5 a.m. headcount.

In large part, the authorities think that their escape was facilitated by their bed sheets.

"Jonathan Tieu, 20, Bac Duong, 43, and Hossein Nayeri, 37, were discovered missing about 9 p.m. Friday when Orange County sheriff's jail personnel conducting a nightly head count came up three short," the Los Angeles Times reports.

"A search of the facility turned up a makeshift rope made from bed sheets and spare cloth, a rectangular hole cut in a steel screen behind some beds and a misplaced coil of razor wire on the roof."

During a Sunday press conference, authorities asked the public for any help and information that could lead to the inmates' capture. This is the first successful breakout from the facility in nearly three decades.

However, authorities also caution that the men should be treated as extremely dangerous, even though police do not know if they are currently armed.

"I think the public should expect the worst if they're encountering them and call 911 and allow the professionals to respond," Orange County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock said during a news conference on Saturday.

The three inmates are all charged with violent crimes. Tieu is charged with murder, Duong is charged with attempted murder, and Nayeri is charged with kidnapping and torture, the LA Times notes.