Corrections defends institution’s record

Ten people have escaped from custody in or near Prince George this summer, including the only three escapes from a work camp in 12 years of operation.
Three are still at at large: a multiple sex offender, and two youths.
The first – and most widely reported – escape was in May, when Wayne Vernon Cassidy and Stafford Mervel Lake left the Kenneth Creek work camp 85 kilometres southeast of Prince George, at were at large for two months. After a segment on the pair by TV show America’s Most Wanted, the pair were caught.
They were taking part in the six-month forestry program at the camp and escaped after only days after their arrival.
Both had served together in Mountain Institution in Kent, Lake for sexual assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and robbery; and Cassidy for second-degree murder.
A third man, 49-year-old Anthony Helary, is still at large after walking away from the camp earlier this month. He is a multiple sex offender and is considered violent.
Lynne Hyatt, Prince George parole supervisor for Corrections Canada, said those three were the only ones from the camp to walk away in its 12 years of operation.
“That record speaks for itself,” she said. “We’ve had dozens of cases were inmates successfully re-integrated from the camp to the community.”
In late July, four youths – three boys and a girl, all in open custody – walked away from a work site. They were taken back into custody the same day.
On Tuesday last week, an unidentified woman walked away from a work site near Ospika Boulevard, and was taken back into custody soon after.
Two more youth are still absent without leave permission after leaving the Youth Containment Centre on Gunn Road last Thursday. Both are 16-year-old white males. One is 5’9″ tall, the other an inch taler. Both have brown hair. One has hazel eyes, the other blue eyes.
Prince George RCMP communications officer Const. Mike Caira said Prince George can expect to see its share of inmates leave custody, because it has two correctional facilities and the Kenneth Creek camp nearby.
“He have these cases yearly,” he said. “We have these ongoing types of investigations because those facilities are here in the community, and we always will.”
Anthony Helary was last seen riding a bicycle on the Bowron Forest Service Road, carrying a black backpack and duffle bag.He is 5’10”, 237 lbs., with white hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers.