BY LYNN DUCEY, The Associated Press
BUCKEYE, Ariz. (AP) -- Negotiations with two inmates holding a pair of correctional officers hostage in a prison guard tower continued into a seventh day Saturday with authorities giving no clear sign how long it would take to resolve the standoff.
Authorities have not said what the inmates are demanding or what motivated them but said discussions were progressing.
“There are some issues on the table right now that are sensitive,” said Ivan Bartos, warden of the state prison in Yuma, who has been aiding officials at the prison complex in Buckeye, west of Phoenix.
One of the inmates was seen on the top level of the tower Saturday wearing an officer’s uniform jacket. The inmate could be seen leaning over the tower corners, and lowering and raised a bucket over one edge.
Friday night, in exchange for hoagie sandwiches and soda, the inmates allowed negotiators to talk to the hostages -- one male guard and one female guard -- and prison officials called that a positive sign.
“We know our correctional officers are alive at Day 6. That is a measure of success,” Bartos said then.
The guards have been held hostage since Jan. 18 at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis in an observation tower believed to be stocked with weapons. Authorities have not given any details on the inmates’ identities or previous crimes.
During the standoff, the other inmates at the 4,400-inmate medium-to high-security prison are in lockdown. Regular weekend visits were canceled.