Police captured a man who had been considered dangerous after escaping from a Washington state psychiatric hospital on Friday.
Anthony Garver, who fled the psychiatric hospital on Wednesday, was found in the woods near his parents’ residence in the Spokane Valley area. Canine units detected his track and led officers to Garver hiding under a pile of debris.
“He was taken into custody without incident,” said Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich. “Food and water was his enemy. He was severely dehydrated. He is receiving medical attention.”
Garver, 28, had been known to local authorities well before his latest escape, because he had allegedly tied a woman to a bed with electric cords, then stabbed her to death in 2013. He was at a psychiatric hospital after being found not competent to stand trial.
On Wednesday, he fled Western State Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Lakewood, Washington, along with fellow patient Mark Alexander Adams, 58.
Adams was captured a day later in Des Moines, Washington — about 15 miles outside of Seattle. Both men had violent criminal histories.
While on the run, Garver made contact with his parents, because he wanted to get his passport, Knezovich said in a press conference. He intended to go to Morocco, although it wasn’t clear why.
The parents were cooperative with the police investigation, Knezovich said.
He added that it was the second time that Garver had escaped.
Pair walked off from the facility
Both Garver and Adams had been committed for mental illness treatment to Western State, described on its website as “one of the largest psychiatric hospitals west of the Mississippi,” with more than 800 beds.
The two were seen in the facility’s dining hall around 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to Lakewood police.
They weren’t noticed missing until about 90 minutes later, after having gotten out — likely through a loose window, which roommates told police was manipulated over five months to open enough to escape from, according to Lakewood police spokesman Chris Lawler.
From there, Garver and Adams apparently walked off together.
Adams took a bus from Lakewood to Federal Way, Washington, arriving there around 10:30 p.m.; he asked how to get to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, police said on Facebook. He was spotted by a tipster who’d seen media coverage of the escape and subsequently captured.
Garver bought a bus ticket Wednesday night from Seattle to Spokane under the alias John Anderson, authorities said.
On Thursday, authorities launched an intensive search after Garver’s parents called saying their son was at their house in a wooded, mountainous area in the Spokane Valley, police said.
He was later discovered Friday after dogs followed his scent.
“I feel outstanding that none of my fellow citizens was injured by this individual,” Knezovich said. “The state of Washington needs to figure out how to keep him for escaping. This cannot happen again.
A third patient walked out of the same facility on the day that Adam and Garver escaped. That patient remains at large, according to CNN affiliate KOMO. The missing patient, whose identity hasn’t been released, was committed to the hospital after facing charges of burglary and violating a no-contact order.
