POINT MUGU : Hospital Escapees Found Near Base
Two patients at Camarillo State Hospital--an 18-year-old man accused of attempted homicide and a 21-year-old woman--were picked up near Point Mugu Navy base Wednesday morning after escaping overnight from the mental hospital.
The couple apparently left the facility Tuesday night while other patients were having coffee and snacks after a service in the hospital’s chapel.
“I guess the staff must have turned their back for a minute or something and they took off and jumped the fence,” said hospital spokeswoman Lynette Castleman. “The staff immediately searched the area, but it was already dark.”
A sheriff’s helicopter and two police dogs were called to assist in the search, but the couple could not be found.
About 9 a.m. Wednesday, employees at Point Mugu spotted two people near the perimeter of the military base and became suspicious. The employees then learned of the missing patients and called the hospital.
Castleman said the 18-year-old man was committed to the hospital four months ago by a Ventura County judge. The teen-ager will undergo treatment at the hospital until he is declared competent to stand trial on a charge of attempted homicide.
Castleman declined to give his name or details of the crime, although she did say that according to a diagnosis he is developmentally disabled with mental problems.
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