UPDATED: Social media: Law enforcement prisoner reportedly injured in incident; Cape County Sheriff's Office has no comment

(Editor's note: This story has been updated. Shortly after the original story was posted to www.semissourian.com, Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office issued a statement.)

The full statement released by Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office at about 9:55 p.m. Thursday, April 27:

Yesterday April 26th, a deputy with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office was transporting an inmate from a local hospital back to the sheriff's office. The inmate was placed in the patrol car's front passenger seat, secured in a four-point restraint and seat belted into the vehicle.

Traveling north on Interstate 55, our deputy saw the inmate unbuckle the seatbelt. However, before getting to a safe place to stop and replace the seatbelt, the inmate reached over, unlocked the door, and attempted to jump out of the patrol car while traveling down the interstate.

Our Deputy immediately began to slow down and simultaneously grab the back collar of the inmate's clothes, attempting to prevent them from falling out of the moving vehicle. While slowing, the deputy’s grip broke, and the inmate leapt from the moving vehicle.

The deputy stopped, the inmate was laying in the roadway with apparent minor road rash-type injuries. An ambulance was called, and the inmate was taken back for medical treatment.

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The original story published shortly before the Sheriff's Office issued it's statement:

Social media posts Wednesday, April 26, indicated a law enforcement prisoner died during an incident that day in Cape Girardeau.

Comments on a post to an online group dedicated to local news say eyewitness accounts indicated a female inmate suffered significant injuries or perhaps died. Some comments suggested the person had died; others contended the person may simply have been lying on the ground.

Cody Windbigler, spokesman for Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed an “incident” Thursday and said a statement would be forthcoming. In an email response, he said social media accounts of the incident were not accurate but did not elaborate what information was accurate or inaccurate.

As of 9 p.m. Thursday, the department had not issued any statement on the incident.

A message for Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson, left Thursday morning with her assistant, was not returned as of Thursday night.

A spokesman for Cape Girardeau Police Department, in response to a query about the incident Wednesday evening, said the department was not involved, that the matter was a Sheriff’s Office matter.