Explained | What we know about the escape from a New Orleans jail

A manhunt has gripped New Orleans since 10 inmates made a brazen escape from a jail this month in one of the largest such breaks in Louisiana history. Authorities have captured eight of the inmates, but two others are still on the run.

Four days after the jailbreak on May 16, a maintenance worker was charged with aiding their escape, bolstering investigators' suspicions that the men had inside help amid security failures. A current inmate was later charged with helping in the escape, as were two women who authorities said had helped the escapees while they were on the run.

Here's what to know.

The inmates likely had help, officials say.

The 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center around 1 a.m. on May 16, authorities said.

After removing a toilet and sink from a cell where the water supply had been turned off, the inmates cut steel bars and got out through a rectangular hole in the wall.

They left behind a taunting misspelled message scrawled on the wall: "to easy LOL."

After crawling through the hole, the inmates left the jail through its loading dock. They shed their uniforms, scaled a wall around the jail and then ran across Interstate 10 nearby.

The Louisiana attorney general's office said that a maintenance worker had helped the inmates by shutting off water, which allowed them to remove the toilet and sink unit.

The worker, Sterling Williams, who was arrested May 19, told investigators that an inmate had threatened to "shank him" if he did not shut off the water, according to an affidavit. But Williams' lawyer, Michael Kennedy, said after speaking to his client that investigators had mischaracterized what happened.

Kennedy said that a sheriff's deputy had told Williams that the toilet was overflowing and asked him to look at it. It appeared that the toilet had been intentionally clogged by inmates in an effort to get someone to shut off the water, Kennedy said.

Williams then shut off the water. He was not acting out of fear or conspiring with the escapees, Kennedy said.

"He was merely a tool that the escapees used to further their plan -- without his knowledge," Kennedy said in an email. He said Williams planned to plead not guilty.

At the time of the escape, a civilian employee in the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office who was responsible for monitoring security systems had left his station to get food, officials said.

Officials did not notice that the inmates were missing until a routine head count at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the escape.

The Louisiana State Police have arrested others and charged them with helping the escapees.

According to the state police, Cortnie Harris and Casey Smith transported two inmates to various locations in New Orleans; Connie Weeden provided cash through a phone app to an escapee; and Corvanntay Baptiste helped get food for an inmate.

Authorities also charged Trevon Williams, who was already incarcerated, with 10 counts of principal to simple escape. Specifics about his alleged role were not immediately available.

Two of the 10 men are still on the run.

The escaped inmates, whose ages range from 19 to 42, had been held on charges that included murder, attempted murder, armed robbery and carrying illegal weapons.

Three of the inmates were captured on the day of the escape, and two others the following week. Three more inmates were taken into custody Monday, the Louisiana State Police said. One of them was arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and two in Walker County, Texas.

Two of the 10 inmates who escaped -- Derrick Groves, 27, and Antoine Massey, 32 -- are still on the run.

Officials have cautioned residents that the escapees may be "armed and dangerous." More than 200 law enforcement officers have been helping to track down the inmates, the state police said.

Agencies, including the FBI and CrimeStoppers, have offered reward money totaling $20,000 for information leading to the capture of each fugitive.

The recaptured inmates have been transferred to a "secure state facility," according to the state police.

Overcrowding, understaffing and security concerns at the jail.

Officials have said that they are investigating multiple security failures at the jail. At least three employees of the Sheriff's Office have been suspended without pay while an internal investigation is underway.

Before the escape, there were already concerns about poor conditions, overcrowding and understaffing at the jail, which is run by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. It has been under a federal consent decree since 2013 -- an agreement under which officials must work to meet federal standards. A federal monitor had also complained that the supervision at the jail was inadequate.

About a third of the cameras in the jail do not work, the Sheriff's Office has said, and the jail had "defective locks and doors." The inmates had broken open a locked cell door as part of their escape.

Sheriff Susan Hutson said that the jail had been holding about 1,400 inmates -- far more than the guards could handle -- and that it had requested $13 million from city officials for security and other needs. The jail, she said, had been struggling with "outdated surveillance, aging infrastructure, blind spots in supervision and critical staffing shortages."