Two Georgia correctional officers killed, police hunt for 2 inmates

Patton said Dubose is familiar to local officers.

Billue, 58, had two sons and Monica, 42, left behind a wife. "They were both tenured officers", Dozier said.

The prison bus was en route to various prisons but was thought to have begun its trip in Baldwin County and then gone to Hancock before heading into Putnam.

He said protocol is to have two armed corrections officers on the bus but that the officers don't wear bullet-proof vests during transfers.

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. (NBC) - Two prison guards are dead after being shot and killed by prisoners in Putnam County. Rowe had been in prison since June 2002, and Dubose had been in prison since July 2015.

The suspects are now armed with the officers'.40 caliber pistols, according to police.

The officers killed were identified by the Corrections Department as Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue. 'He was wonderful. They were the type of neighbors that you would just love to have, when you go out of town, that's who you tell that you're gone out of town, ' one neighbor said.

Authorities may have no shortage of witnesses to the killing of two guards on a prison bus in Georgia.

The sheriff of Oconee County, whose jurisdiction is north of where the killings occurred, posted a message for the escaped convicts on Facebook.

This happened on Hwy 16 West of Sparta near Eatonton around 5:45 a.m.

The victims were officers Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, authorities said.

I hope you are reading this. They reportedly escaped in a Honda Civic.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was testifying Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill, decried the attacks during his appearance before a Senate subcommittee.

"An attack on any American law enforcement officer is an attack on every American law enforcement officer and the principles we all believe in", Rosenstein said. Billue and Monica were then shot and killed.

Rowe is wanted alongside Ricky Dubose, both of whom are considered armed and unsafe. They are extremely risky.

In addition to ransacking a house, the two prisoners carjacked a green 2004 four-door Honda Civic with Georgia license plate RBJ6601.

The Sheriff's office identified the escaped inmates as Donnie Russell Rowe of middle Tennessee and Ricky Dubose of Madison County, Georgia, who they said were prisoners at Baldwin State Prison.

Eatonton, Putnam County's seat of government, is about 65 miles southeast of Atlanta. Anyone who sees them are urged to call 911.

The prison guard was described as "so sweet".

"It's scary because the area was near where we live", a neighbor said.

"I've got a vehicle description; of course we're looking for that", he said.