Former jailer's children in Indiana custody

Capt. John Randall of Faulkner County Sheriff's Office said Friday that the three children of former Faulkner County jailer Sarah Bergmann were taken into state custody on Thursday in Elkhart, Ind., after the mother was arrested while trying to receive cash via Western Union at a Martin's Super Center.

Bergmann, 21, of Mount Vernon, faces felony charges in Arkansas after she allegedly helped state inmate James S. Johnson, 34, escape Faulkner County Detention Center on Aug. 11.

Bergmann's three children are all younger than 3, and are all said to have travelled to Indiana with the ex-jailer and the missing inmate. Randall thinks the two were in a relationship during their contact at the old jail.

Bergmann was arrested at 2:15 p.m., Thursday after a sting operation performed in conjunction with the FBI and the Elkhart Police Department.

Bergmann had resigned from her position at the jail on the same day Johnson was last seen there. She was baited on Thursday with cash assistance from an undisclosed source, and she showed up at the Western Union affiliate with her children who according to Randall on Thursday were in "good condition."

Johnson was arrested Thursday night on a tip from the recently arrested Bergmann, according to Randall, who disclosed that the inmate had been working in the Elkhart area, and that Johnson's boss helped coordinate Johnson's arrest. Johnson, who was convicted in Sebastian and Crawford counties and has since been serving a 40-year sentence for battery, forgery and theft, has participated in Arkansas' Act 309 program.

Under Act 309, Johnson has been allowed trustee status at Faulkner County Detention Center Unit I. FCSO Maj. Bobby Brown said Thursday he believed Johnson escaped through the back of the old jail in the car wash area, where jail jurisdiction can often seem unclear to the public.

Robert Bergmann, a local man who says he is the biological father of Sarah Bergmann's children, has told police he will travel to Indiana to pick up the children.

Johnson and Bergmann are expected to be extradited to Faulkner County after proceedings in Elkhart County.