Post by Logan on May 4, 2016 1:22:39 GMT -6
LAKEWOOD, Wash. – When a man accused of torturing a woman to death broke out of Washington state’s largest mental hospital with another patient in early April, officials called it a rare occurrence and cited only two other escapes in the past seven years.
But a review of police reports and interviews by the Associated Press reveal 185 instances in which patients escaped or walked away over just the past 3 1/2 years or so.
Patients have bolted out unsecured doors, jumped over fences, crawled out windows, run away from staff during off-campus appointments and wandered off after being allowed outside the building.
Some returned on their own within hours, but many disappeared for weeks or longer. Police captured them down the street, in nearby cities, in faraway counties and in other states. Others were never found.
Read more: www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/may/03/dozens-escaped-from-western-state-hospital-since-2/
But a review of police reports and interviews by the Associated Press reveal 185 instances in which patients escaped or walked away over just the past 3 1/2 years or so.
Patients have bolted out unsecured doors, jumped over fences, crawled out windows, run away from staff during off-campus appointments and wandered off after being allowed outside the building.
Some returned on their own within hours, but many disappeared for weeks or longer. Police captured them down the street, in nearby cities, in faraway counties and in other states. Others were never found.
Read more: www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/may/03/dozens-escaped-from-western-state-hospital-since-2/