A Haralson County Jail inmate who is believed to have been one of the last people to see Jessica Earl before she went missing in June of 2018, is being treated at a local hospital after jail officials say he over-dosed on methamphetamine this week.
Seth Odom was arrested by the Haralson County SheriffÂ’s Office in July of 2018, but on charges un-related to EarlÂ’s disappearance.
At that time, Odom had allegedly told detectives he had “no knowledge” of Earl’s whereabouts after she walked off into a wooded area last summer, allegedly to search for arrowheads.
Odom has been in the Haralson County Jail since his arrest in July for charges including theft-by-receiving stolen property and failure to appear. His bond is currently listed at $75,000.
In October of 2018, Odom was charged with aggravated-assault and riot-in-a-penal-institution following an incident in the jail facility involving at least one other inmate. But since that time, he has “fallen in line” and “has played by the rules,” which according to jail officials, led to Odom being allowed to leave his cell to perform inside-prison-detail work such as cleaning and washing.
It was while working inside detail, that jail officials this week noticed something “was not right” with Odom. Officials witnessed Odom “acting extremely hyperactive and anxious,” and the inmate suggested to officers that God had appeared to him and spoken with him.
At this point, jailors decided to remove him from the prison detail area. During the process of returning Odom to the general population, officials say he became lethargic and did not respond to verbal cues. Emergency Medical Technicians were then notified and Odom was taken to an area medical facility.
Haralson County Jail Administrator, Major Roger Blue told WLBB Radio Friday the investigation into the incident has led his staff to believe that Odom had somehow received methamphetamine while in the jail. Blue believes drugs were snuck-in to the facility by inmates who were performing outside-work-detail.
While Odom is suspected of being high when jailors began to move him out of work detail, they believe as he collected his belongings, he took additional drugs or drugs already on his body may have dissolved and absorbed into his skin, causing the over-dose.
Since learning of OdomÂ’s condition, Blue says the Jail has drug tested the 20 inmates who had worked detail. Fifteen of them tested positive for drug use. All have since been removed from work-detail.
Blue expects Odom will be returned to the Haralson County Jail early next week.
