Authorities in Pennsylvania defended their jail staff on Wednesday after the escape of Jamestown murder and kidnapping suspect Michael Burham.

The commissioner of Warren County, Pa. says it took Burham seconds to escape and the entire jail was alerted immediately.

The 34-year-old escaped from the Warren County Prison last Thursday.

The county says the roof of the recreation room was initially blocked by a chain-link fence and steel beams, however, those were broken when he escaped by climbing on exercise equipment, climbing through a window and then down a rope fashioned from jail bedding, authorities said.

Officials say three other inmates were in the room at that time. The county says they were under camera surveillance, but Burham left within seconds.

Authorities say they have also learned a drone may have been operating near the jail prior to his jailbreak.

"There was no delay,” Warren County Commissioner Jeff Eggleston said. “Nobody was having a sandwich. It wasn't a situation where somebody was asleep at the wheel. Literally, within a second of him escaping, the jail was alerted and responded. Our corrections officers within the facility responded immediately and corrections officers outside the facility that were not on duty were on site within minutes."

Burham was being held on $1 million bail and was charged with kidnapping, burglary and other counts. Burham is accused of killing Kala Hodgkin in Jamestown in May and kidnapping an elderly couple in Pennsylvania.

Investigators believe he is armed and dangerous and say they are interviewing potential accomplices.