O.C. Rapist Is Missing From State Hospital

A rapist convicted in an Orange County case escaped from Atascadero State Hospital on Sunday afternoon, according to a spokeswoman at the facility.

Ronald Rogers, 45, was missing from an afternoon head count about 4 p.m., said hospital spokeswoman Barrie Hafler.

A lock-down of the hospital was ordered and the grounds were scoured for Rogers, but he was not found. Atascadero is about 215 miles north of Los Angeles and houses about 300 of the state’s worst and most violent sex offenders.

Rogers has been a patient at Atascadero since 1996, when he was committed after a rape conviction in Orange County.

An all-points-bulletin was issued for Rogers, who should be considered dangerous, Hafler said. The California Highway Patrol and Atascadero police and sheriff’s departments were alerted.

Rogers was described as a white male, about 5-foot-8, 160 pounds with long brown hair.

Escapes from the high-security facility are “infrequent,” Hafler said. The last attempt was in 1999 when a patient escaped through the roof. He was found 15 minutes later.

The hospital remained in lock-down Sunday evening as the search continued.