An inmate in Canada has been on the run for more than a week after escaping from a mental health hospital Dec. 3.
Quebec police have offered few updates on the manhunt that started when the inmate injured a Pierre-Janet Hospital employee and fled the hospital on foot.
Police have speculated that the fugitive, 22-year-old David Harvey, may be hitchhiking to his hometown of Montreal, reports cbc.ca.
Officials at the mental health hospital realized Harvey had escaped around 3:30 p.m. Dec. 3 when they discovered an unconscious hospital employee. The extent of that worker’s injuries have not been released.
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The exact nature of Harvey’s escape is still unclear, as police have insisted that inmates are accompanied by a guard at all times during their treatment.
“Inmates are always, always with someone. They’re never left on their own,” says Audrey-Anne Bilodeau, a sergeant with Sûreté du Québec (the provincial police force).
It is also unclear why Harvey, who was an inmate at the Hull Detention Center, was being treated at the hospital in the first place.
Harvey is described as 5’11 and 159 lbs with short brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black coat, pants and walking boots.
Police are urging the public to call 911 immediately if they see Harvey, but don’t want people approaching him.
“He used violence against members of the hospital staff, so based on that, we ask that members of the public do not approach him because he could be violent with those people as well,” Sgt. Bilodeau says.
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