Boy, 11, Who Fled Hospital Is Found
Investigators found an 11-year-old boy unharmed Monday at an apartment complex near Pacoima after he had escaped Sunday from the Van Nuys Adolescent Psychiatric Hospital, officials said.
A witness who recognized the boy from television news reports called police Monday afternoon to say the boy had been spotted in the neighborhood. Police turned the boy over to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
“We are glad we found him safe,” said Det. Craig Rhudy of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Division.
At least eight officers and five police units combed the area Monday morning looking for the boy, said Sgt. David Medof. In an unrelated incident, a 14-year-old Palmdale girl ran way from the facility by jumping a fence Sunday but returned the same day, police said.
Police said the boy, who suffers from depression, escaped the hospital on Vanowen Street about 2:10 p.m. Sunday by breaking a window and climbing out. Rhudy said officials considered him a danger to himself.
Officials at the 41-bed hospital declined comment.
Both the boy and the girl had been placed at the psychiatric hospital by Children and Family Services, Rhudy said.
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