(NewsNation Now) — Authorities in Tennessee say two inmates who fled from a jail have died in North Carolina, while the search for a third fugitive continues.

Local law enforcement officials say they believe the three men escaped Friday morning through the HVAC system at the Sullivan County Jail in Blountville, Tennessee.

Tobias Wayne Carr, 38, and Timothy Allen Sarver, 45, died in Wilmington, North Carolina, the Sullivan County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

Carr’s best friend, Jessee Weldon, said the last time he spoke with Carr was Christmas of 2020.

“Toby was a really good person in a toxic relationship,” Weldon said. “And when you’re in those relationships, you generally either leave or snap; and my friend snapped.”

Weldon said he wasn’t surprised Carr tried to escape from the jail.

“The stories I’ve heard about the jail, I’m not surprised anybody would want to escape,” Weldon said. “I’m very sad about the way everything ended. But I can hardly blame anybody for wanting to get out of there.”

The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office said Carr was jailed on charges of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, vandalism and tampering with evidence. 

The last time they spoke, Weldon said, Carr said his relationship with his wife was in turmoil.

“Basically, what he said to me was that everything he ever suspected was true, and so much worse, that he was embarrassed to even talk about it,” Weldon said. “And he was trying to, he was trying to work through it. And apparently, in the process of trying to work through it, the arguments got worse.”

After escaping, Carr and Server allegedly held up a gas station at gunpoint. 

“That doesn’t sound like my friend,” Weldon said. “I’m sure being on the run … I’m sure he probably felt he had to do some things that he never would have thought about otherwise. I definitely don’t condone anything that he has done since Nov. 11, 2019.”

The sheriff’s office said Johnny Shane Brown, 50, remains at large. Law enforcement officials say anyone who spots him should immediately call 911 and not approach him.