Sheriff’s office: 2 teens escape Tampa detention center

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Authorities say two teenagers have escaped from a juvenile detention center in Tampa.

According to a news release from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the male teens escaped around 9:15 a.m. Sunday from the Falkenburg Academy, a Department of Juvenile Justice facility.

The sheriff’s office says the teens had joined other inmates for recreation in a fenced yard. When detention center staffed noticed other inmates looking toward the fence, they realized the two teens were missing.

Authorities say a hole had been cut in the chain-link fence.

The sheriff’s office says both teens were wearing green shirts and blue pants.

According to the sheriff’s office, the missing teens are an 18-year-old from Georgetown, Georgia, and a 17-year-old from St. Petersburg. Both had been detained on charges of grand theft auto.