One factor that made it easier for McNair to escape arrest was that the photo provided to police was very low-quality and six months old. Another was that the prison had told police that they were not completely sure that McNair had escaped. Bordelon himself claimed that he let McNair go because the physical description of McNair given to police was completely different from how McNair actually appeared. Over the ten minutes that Bordelon questioned McNair, McNair remained calm and provided completely plausible explanations, eventually convincing Bordelon that his alibi was true.