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NATCHEZ — Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said Tuesday evening that law enforcement authorities do not think a New Orleans jail escapee is in the Natchez area.

“After hours and hours and hours searching physically and virtually, we do not believe that the suspect is in our area. That’s not to say he wasn’t here, but we are saying he is not here now,” Patten said.

Concordia Parish Sheriff David Hedrick said his office received a report at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday of a possible sighting of Antoine Massey, who escaped earlier this month along with nine others from the New Orleans jail. All except Massey and one other escapee have been captured.

The information Hedrick received said Massey was seen in the area of Providence Road.

A number of federal agencies, along with local and state agencies, converged on Natchez to assist in the search.

“After searching diligently both the old-fashioned way using manpower and the new way by using technology, we came to the conclusion that we could not confirm or deny that the escapee was here. However, all of the agencies involved wanted to make sure that we all did our due diligence, that we followed up on every call and every lead,” Patten said. “All of the agencies worked very well together until there were no other leads to follow. We can tell the citizens that if he was here, he is no longer in the area.”

Patten said the agencies that came to Natchez and were involved in the search were the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana State Police, the U.S. Marshal Service, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, and the Natchez Police Department. The agencies set up a command post at one of the ACSO’s locations.

“We still want the public to be vigilant. If you see something, say something. If you feel like you see a suspect in our area, call 911 and request assistance. We strongly advise against taking the matter into your own hands. But do call and let authorities do their job,” Patten said.

In addition to 911, citizens can call Crime Stoppers at 888-442-5001.