PUEBLO, Colo. -- Authorities said one of three siblings involved in a crime spree and nationwide manhunt planned to escape from a Colorado jail and leave a note that said he enjoyed staying in the jail.

They said Dylan Stanley Dougherty got out of his cell through a plumbing access panel and planned to leave a note thanking jailers, according to his arrest warrant affidavit obtained by 7NEWS.

"I have enjoyed staying here, so don't take any of this personal (sic)," the note found by jailers read, according to the affidavit.

A second note, found in the females' pod, was addressed to his incarcerated sister, Lee Grace Dougherty. It told Lee to have her personal belongings ready and that Dylan was going to get in through the ceiling to the control room where the detention staff is located. The note said he would drop down on the jailers, take their keys and he and Lee would just "walk out" of the Huerfano County Jail.

A third letter was found, addressed to the FBI. It said by the time they received the letter he would be "long gone" from the jail.

According to an arrest affidavit, deputies found a homemade knife made of a piece of 8-inch metal, with a sharpened point and a cloth wrapped around the opposite end, acting as a handle.

Dylan Dougherty faces charges of escape and contraband possession for the alleged escape plan discovered during a Jan. 10 search.

Jailers originally found the knife and then made a more thorough inspection of Dougherty's cell, finding an access door to plumbing. A jailer was able to climb in the hatch, up the plumbing and follow footprints all the way to the female prisoners' cells, according to the arrest affidavit.

Dylan, Lee Grace and their brother Ryan, were arrested in Colorado after a high-speed chase in August.

The Crime Spree

Police said the Dougherty siblings began their national crime spree on Aug. 2, when they fired 20 shots at a Florida police officer who was attempting to pull over their white Subaru Impreza for speeding.

Five hours later, the trio, wearing masks, robbed a bank in Valdosta, Ga., police said. One of them fired an AK-47 rifle into the ceiling as they walked through the front door, police said. Another was armed with some type of machine gun, while the third collected the cash, police said.

Ryan Dougherty, a convicted sex offender, has 14 previous felonies on his record and was accused of sending hundreds of explicit text messages to an 11-year-old girl he had met online.

Dylan Dougherty has arrests for marijuana possession.

Lee Grace worked as a stripper at a club called Cheaters and had been arrested for five felonies, including battery and hit-and-run, and six misdemeanor offenses.

On her profile on the photo-sharing website Flickr.com, Lee Grace wrote: "I love to farm and shoot guys and wreck cars. I'm a redneck and proud of it. I like milk and German engineering and causing mayhem with my siblings."

Dubbed the Dougherty Gang, the two brothers and sister were the subject of a national manhunt, listed on the FBI's Most Wanted List and defined as heavily armed and extremely dangerous.

Manhunt Ends in Colorado

The widely publicized cross-country manhunt for the Doughertys ended Aug. 10 near Walsenburg, about 150 miles south of Denver, following a chase on Interstate 25.

The Doughertys were first spotted in Colorado on Aug. 9. Investigators believe the trio may have purchased a tent at an REI sporting goods store in Colorado Springs in the afternoon, and one of them may have gone into a Walmart in Canon City that night to buy ammunition for an AK-47.

On Aug. 10, witnesses spotted the suspects near Colorado City and called 911, said Colorado State Patrol Trooper Heather Cobler. Sightings of the suspects' vehicle were reported at a campground on Highway 165. Troopers said when law enforcement reached the campground, the suspects had already left.

A short time later, a Pueblo County sheriff's deputy, Robbie Newsome, saw the vehicle at a gas station near exit 74 on I-25 near Colorado City. He discreetly followed them until state troopers could join in the chase.

Officials said the suspects fled when they noticed that CSP troopers trying to stop them.

In Walsenburg, an off-duty trooper working at a construction site heard about the chase coming his way, and he deployed spiked stop strips across the interstate.

A tire was punctured on the Doughertys' Subaru, sending it rolling and crashing into a guardrail.

Lee Grace scrambled out of the car and was going over a guard rail with a machine pistol in her hand when Walsenburg's police chief ordered her to drop her weapon, according to the arrest affidavit.

She was seen trying to "work the action on the pistol" and pointed her weapon directly at him, the affidavit said.

That's when Walsenburg Police Chief James Chamberlain fired his .40 caliber weapon and struck her in the right upper thigh, causing her to fall to the ground.

"I let go of the gun" and the "pain was all through my body," she told the FBI.

Lee Grace and Dylan were taken into custody.

Ryan ran off and was eventually detained by construction workers at a nearby site, authorities said.

Lee Grace told police she "deserved to get shot" because she had pointed a gun at a police officer, according to court documents.

Why Colorado?

Ryan Dougherty told authorities they were headed to Mexico to elude authorities after he was convicted in Florida of sending the sexually explicit text messages to the 11-year-old girl.