2 Prisoners Flee Van During Transfer

Two prisoners escaped from California Youth Authority officers Wednesday after they had been driven from San Diego to a reception center in Norwalk, authorities said.

Officers said the men were able to remove their leg shackles and handcuffs--possibly by cutting them with a metal ash tray. They had been left in a van while the two officers who transferred them checked their weapons.

The escapees were identified as Tony McGee, 21, and Jake G. Encinas, 19, both of San Diego. McGee was serving a sentence for robbery and Encinas had been sentenced for auto theft.

When the correctional officers returned to the van, the two men overpowered them and fled on foot. One resident near the facility found two jail uniforms on his living room floor. Another reported that clothes had been stolen from a clothesline, and two bicycles were taken from another home, police said.