'America's Most Wanted' to air inmate escape Saturday

After a week's delay, the Fox television show “America's Most Wanted” will air an in-depth segment featuring the August 24 escape of eight Curry County inmates on Saturday, according to show producer Jenna Naranjo.

Naranjo said the episode will focus on the escape of the inmates and profiles of the four men who remain at large. The segment will also address escapee Edward Salas’ role in the 2005 shooting death of 10-year-old Carlos Perez. Salas was convicted of murder.

“He’s been convicted, he’s a killer, he’s the most dangerous and he has nothing to lose,” Naranjo said of the focus on Salas.

“America’s Most Wanted” is also flying Clovis Police Detective Roger Grah to the East Coast studio so he will be on-hand to take tip calls that come in during the broadcast.

A webcast previewing the upcoming episode is slated to be available today at www.amw.com and an Internet story is already posted on the AMW site, Naranjo said.

Fugitive Noe Torres, who was also charged in the Perez slaying, will also be featured briefly on the show, she said.

Even if the four remaining escapees are captured, the show will likely air in some fashion, she said.

Officials have said the inmates, all accused of violent crimes, cut a hole in the roof of the jail and shimmied up plumbing pipes to freedom.

Four of the eight who escaped, including a convicted murderer and a murder suspect, remained at large late Wednesday.

Rewards are being offered by Curry County Crime Stoppers for information about the four inmates who remain at large from the Curry County Detention Center.

• Edward Salas — up to $3,000

• Larry McClendon Jr. — up to $2,000

• Michael England — up to $1,500

• Louis Chavez — up to $1,000

Crime Stoppers can be contacted at 763-7000. Callers can remain anonymous.

On TV: The story of the escape and the case against convicted killer Edward Salas is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Saturday on the Fox network show “America’s Most Wanted.”

Fox airs on KASA channel 2 in New Mexico, KCIT channel 14 in Amarillo or KJTV channel 34 in Lubbock.

To read an AMW Internet story on the escape, visit: www.amw.com