One of Two Escapees From Youth Center Captured

Sheriff’s deputies captured a 15-year-old boy and searched for his 18-year-old companion after the pair escaped Sunday morning from the Joplin Youth Center.

Joplin officials refused to discuss the records of the two youths, and their names were not released because of their ages.

The pair escaped on foot from the facility, located on a former ranch on a rural hill in Trabuco Canyon. The captured youth was taken to Juvenile Hall in Orange, Sheriff’s Lt. William Francis said.

He added that the 18-year-old was believed to be in the Mission Viejo area.

The Joplin center, which has beds for 60 teen-age boys, is a low-security penal facility for young offenders that is intended as an alternative to the state Youth Authority, which operates more like a traditional prison. Joplin youths are required to attend academic classes and are offered classes designed to help them break away from gangs and drugs.

In July, Orange County officials, hoping to balance the county budget, recommended closing the 35-year-old facility to save $1.5 million a year. The Board of Supervisors is considering the idea.

Norm Shattuck, Joplin’s assistant director, said the captured teen-ager will go before a judge, who could sentence him to the state Youth Authority or allow him to return to Joplin. A recaptured juvenile usually faces at least four more months on a sentence, Shattuck said.

Shattuck said escapes from Joplin are rare but, he said, they are possible any time because there are no fences at the facility.