PHELPS COUNTY, Mo. — The FBI has taken a man back into custody after he escaped from the Phelps County Jail Friday night, a bureau spokesperson told 5 On Your Side Sunday evening.
The man, identified as Jonathan O-Dell, is reportedly facing numerous weapons charges. The Phelps County Sheriff's Department called him extremely dangerous.
"O'Dell ... was taken into custody without incident in Ray County at approximately 5:00 p.m this evening by the FBI, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Ray County Sheriff's Office.," the FBI said. "We thank the public for their assistance, which ultimately led to his capture."
O'Dell was captured after a witness who knows him personally reported him to be in possession of a stolen vehicle, the sheriff's department said on its Facebook account. The stolen vehicle was recovered when O'Dell was recaptured.
O’Dell and a second inmate escaped from the jail in Rolla around 11:09 p.m., a statement from the sheriff's department said. The second escaped inmate, Steven Timothy Scott, turned himself in. The inmates left the jail after breaking out of a holding cell.
A member of the self-styled 2nd American Militia, Schmidt O'Dell allegedly planned on traveling to Texas to shoot at immigrants crossing the border from Mexico, according to a federal indictment handed down in May. He also planned to murder officers and employees of the U.S. Border Patrol who would get in his way.
Schmidt O'Dell and an accomplice had gathered several weapons, body armor, helmets, gas masks, sniper rests, explosive materials and more than 1700 rounds of ammunition, according to a May press release from the United States Attorney's Office of the Western Missouri District.
When FBI agents approached Schmidt O'Dell's home in October 2022 and announced their intent to execute a search warrant, O'Dell opened fire and shot FBI vehicles several times.
Instead of returning fire, FBI agents surrounded the home. Schmidt O'Dell and another member of his militia face a 44-count indictment. Neither was granted bond because the court ruled they were a danger to the community.
