a gas station outside the prison, attendant Joe Pawleski was struck over the head by the Pierpont group. The group commandeered another vehicle, releasing two women but forcing the driver to continue. They headed west for a few miles, hiding in a farmhouse around 2:30 p.m. The convicts in Sheriff Neel's car purchased gas at Burdick, Indiana, about 20 miles west of Michigan City. The group abandoned the sheriff's car near Wheeler, Indiana, after carjacking another motorist. The group roared off with the sheriff still their prisoner. At almost midnight, Mary Kinder answered a knock at her door in Indianapolis and found Pierpont standing there. She immediately asked about her brother, Earl Northern. Northern was originally part of the escapee plan, but was ill in the infirmary at the time of the break. Mary had arranged a place for the escapees to stay at the home of Ralph Saffell, her reluctant boyfriend. The convicts sent Saffell and Mary downtown to buy civilian clothes. Pearl Elliott soon arrived at the Saffell home and brought money. The convicts were ready to begin taking banks on their own, only to discover that Dillinger had been arrested in Dayton, Ohio four days before the escape, and was being detained in the Allen County jail in Lima. The gang soon hatched a plan to free Dillinger. The next evening, the gang was joined by Michigan City parolee Harry Copeland, Dillinger's partner before the arrest, who told the gang he had arranged for a house at 1054 South Second Street in Hamilton, Ohio. However, the hideout would not be ready for a few more days but he had found them temporary refuge. When their hideout in Hamilton was ready, the group abandoned their car in Indianapolis and stole another to hide their tracks. Indiana State Police Captain Matt Leach became aware of the theft, and threw up a blockade that almost resulted in the gang's capture. During an attempt to getaway from the police, the door of their auto opened and James Jenkins fell out. The gang had to speed on, unable to wait on Jenkins, eventually stealing another vehicle before reaching their Ohio hideout. Jenkins was later killed that evening by a local posse near Beanblossom, Indiana. The gang hid out at the farm of Pierpont's parents near Leipsic, Ohio as well as their hideout in Hamilton. Pierpont's tenure with Dillinger First National Bank, St.