The first of the escaped inmates was chased through the French Quarter, not even two miles from the New Orleans city jail. He was caught several hours after he and nine other inmates had fled the jail through a hole in a cell wall.

The second was tracked down not long after, through a call to a tip line. A third was found on the other side of the city, arrested at the end of the first day following their brazen escape.

Since then, nothing.

Four days into the manhunt, seven other men have continued to evade capture. Their jailbreak has alarmed and captivated New Orleans, as details have emerged about their dash across Interstate 10 on foot and a taunting misspelled message left behind: “to easy LOL.”

The escape has also brought new scrutiny on the Orleans Parish jail, a long-troubled facility with a history of poor conditions and insufficient oversight of inmates.

Investigators said they had received intelligence on all of the escaped inmates, who ranged from 19 to 42 and were being held on charges including murder, attempted murder, armed robbery and carrying illegal weapons. But their pursuit has resulted in dead ends and tips that have gotten the authorities close — but not close enough.

“We end up getting there just a little too late,” Col. Robert P. Hodges, the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, said in a news conference on Sunday evening. Officials suggested the inmates might be getting help from friends and relatives.