( CNN ) -- A female correctional officer at a Washington state prison was strangled and an inmate who told officers he had planned to escape is under investigation , authorities said Sunday . Jayme Biendl , 34 , was discovered late Saturday night after workers at the Monroe Correctional Complex noticed her keys and radio were missing , according to a statement from the Washington State Department of Corrections . Staff at the prison immediately went to where she worked and found her unresponsive , it said . Emergency responders declared Biendl dead at the scene shortly before 11 p.m. PT , the department said . She had been strangled , according to Chad Lewis , a department spokesman . Also Saturday night , a prison inmate was reported missing during a routine count , the department said . He was later found in the chapel lobby and told officers he had planned to escape , but changed his mind . The inmate , who Lewis identified as Byron Scherf , has since been taken to a segregation unit . The entire complex was on lockdown Sunday as officers investigate the incident , the statement said . Police are interviewing Scherf as a suspect in the officer 's death , Lewis said . Biendl had worked with the corrections department since 2002 .
Jayme Williams had worked with the police department since 2002 . She was found dead , with her phone and wallet missing . An inmate who told officers he had tried to escape is considered a suspect .