"The Department of Corrections is to be commended on their responses because in both cases (Allgier and the two recent escapees); they immediately contacted numerous agencies, including the Marshal's Service," Phelps said. "They reached out for every available resource.

"We have some very grave concerns about the way Daggett County handled the notifications about the fact that an escape (involving Gallegos and Diaz-Arevalo) had occurred, especially since we house federal prisoners there," Phelps said.

After the escape Gallegos and Diaz-Arevalo were described "extremely dangerous," given their past criminal histories and their current situation. Both were serving under life sentences, "and the homicides in both cases were brutal and senseless," Phelps said.

In March 1990, Gallegos broke into the apartment of his former girlfriend, Stephanie Groves, 18, and hid in a closet.

Groves came home that night with two people, including Tammy Syndergaard, 18. While the three were watching a movie, Gallegos jumped from the closet and shot Syndergaard in the back of the head, killing her. The other two escaped.

The escape frightened members of Syndergaard's family. Her father, Jerry Syndergaard, said he exchanged words with Gallegos during court proceedings, and he said Gallegos threatened to kill him.

Diaz-Arevalo shot his girlfriend, Lindsey Fawson, 22, in the head on the evening of May 16, 2005, as she sat in her car parked in a Draper driveway. Her young son was in the back seat.

Since the men escaped from the Daggett County Jail last week, they have been on foot. When they broke into the elderly man's home, they were about 12 to 14 miles from the county jail.

"It's tough country," Patterson said. "They were on foot. They had difficult terrain. They needed to make sure they were undetected so they had to pick and choose when they could move. Plus you've got issues with the kind of clothing they had."

Sweetwater County Sheriff's deputies said the men were still in their jail uniforms when they were caught, although Diaz had acquired a jacket from somewhere.

A comprehensive review of security at the Daggett County Jail is under way. Utah corrections officials are expected to meet with Daggett County Sheriff Rick Ellsworth and his staff on Monday to discuss some of the problems. Corrections officials have described a lack of staff (one of the deputies on duty the night of the escape was sick and spent part of his shift in a bathroom), policy violations and technical problems (an unlocked door facilitated the men's escape).

Patterson told the Deseret Morning News that corrections investigators are still looking into whether the men had help escaping, either from jail staffers or other inmates.

"It's certainly an area we feel we have to place focus on," he said. "We haven't ruled out staff or other inmates."

Corrections officials are praising the man who was kidnapped, tied up and later broke free to alert authorities about the escapees.

"He's really a hero," Patterson said.

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