UPDATED: Escape Attempt Thwarted at Kendall County Jail

New charges have been filed against a Montgomery man who tried to escape from the Kendall County Jail on Monday, Kendall County Sheriff's deputies said Tuesday.

Ryan William Cleary, 20, of the 2400 block of Summerwind Lane in Montgomery, was charged Tuesday with felony attempted escape and felony criminal damage to state-supported property, Deputy Craig French said. He will appear in court on Wednesday to answer these new charges, French said.

Around 9:30 a.m. Monday, Cleary climbed through a portion of suspended ceiling and crawled about 25 feet before being caught hiding in the ductwork by sheriff’s deputies, French said.

Corrections Commander Sabrina Jennings said Cleary was “in the ceiling with no means of escape,” and still well within the confines of the jail when he was caught. The ventilation system is secured to prevent this type of escape, French said.

Cleary was arrested last Thursday on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear for a probation hearing. He was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and aggravated resisting a police officer after he fought sheriff’s deputies trying to bring him in, French said.

He emphasized that Cleary posed no danger to the public at any time.

According to Jennings, there has been only one other escape attempt in the jail’s 18-year history. That was in 1996, when an inmate tried chipping away the wall of his cell, she said.