UPDATE: Friday, September 20, 2013, 11:30AM:
Shortly before 11AM, a Washington State Patrol helicopter located the 15-year old escapee from the Echo Glen Children’s Facility. He was near I-90 and not within Snoqualmie city limits. Washington State Patrol and the Snoqualmie Police Department pursued and captured the teen at approximately 11AM. He escaped the facility around 7:45PM Thursday, September 19th.
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At 6:45AM, September 20, 2013, the City of Snoqualmie Police Department issued an alert to area residents regarding a youth on the run from a local detention center.
The 15-year old male escaped from the Echo Glen Children’s Facility, located on a property between Snoqualmie and I-90 and
near some residential neighborhoods of Snoqualmie Ridge.
The City of Snoqualmie reminded residents it was not a lockdown situation for residents, but rather the alert was to watch for suspicious activity and be cautious.
Local resident, Julie Duim, reported via social media that she was volunteering at Echo Glen Thursday evening, September 19th, when the facility went into lockdown for the escape around 7:45PM. She also stated the the escapee was not considered to be dangerous.
Police felt the young male was in the Snoqualmie vicinity or possibly went toward the freeway. The Snoqualmie Valley School District stated in an email to families that police were NOT recommending locking down any local schools.
The City of Snoqualmie Police conducted active search, but it was also possibility that the youth left the Snoqualmie area, as the escape happened over 12 hours prior . The public was asked to use caution as the escapee has a criminal record of burglary.
Residents were encouraged to keep car doors locked and to not leave vehicles unattended with keys or running. It was also advised that homeowners lock doors and windows while police attempted to locate the escaped male.
Description: White male. 5’10.” Slender build. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Yellow jump suit.
Call 9-1-1 if you see anyone fitting the description or notice any suspicious activity.
Comments
I wonder how much liability insurance the city has that they don’t feel the need to notify residences of these escapes when they happen. Soon to be built near this facility is a large park with two community soccer fields with a playground for kids, a hospital complete with pharmacy and a proposed 160 unit low income housing unit, all within easy access of any escapee.
Yes these escapes seem to happening so frequently, near schools & playfields. Add in the act that people aren’t being notified other than spreading the word on social media sites, it’s all very disturbing. I for one want to start hearing about changes being made at Echo Glen to prevent these teens from escaping rather than hearing about more escapes.
My children go out the door before 7, and at 8:20. The ‘official’ school email came at 8:46. Thank you Living Snoqualmie, for doing what the district and ROA can’t—keep us informed in a timely manner! Completely ridiculous and negligent on the school district’s part!
It’s ridiculous that this facility has no fence! We’ve lived here for just over a year – only about 2 miles down the road – and this is the second escape. I’m so glad that we are moving next year. I wouldn’t know anything about this except for the email from my child’s school notifying me they are not on lockdown. That is not reassuring!
You’re absolutely right dear…EGCC is in the habit of suppressing anything that they deem negative, as far as publicity goes, because they like to sweep all negative news under the rug.
Folks … it will be OK. Authorities will catch the non-violent individual. Do your part by keeping aware. That facility was here before the Ridge developed into what it is now. Overreacting does not help anyone. Living Snoqualmie got the word out just fine. This is a prime example how several networks can adequately share information. In case one more fail, others can pick up. Then word of mouth does its part. Redundancy. This is a success story.
Tammy’s definition of frequently is very different than mine. The last time there was an escape before this one was almost exactly a year ago, September, 22nd 2012. As a father of a 2yro & 5yro living on the Ridge, I personally don’t feel like the escapes are “frequent” nor do I feel the facility (a facility that has been in that location since the 1967, and I was fully aware of when my wife and I made the choice to buy a home near it) is unsafe or irresponsible. Much ado about nothing.
You wouldn’t feel that way if you could read some of these kids’ files bucko
I think that is important to point out that Echo Glen has been in the same location for a lot longer than Snoqualmie Ridge. People choose to live there people choose to ignore that could be an issue. As someone who lived in Snoqualmie for years this is not a issue all these people with there hoity toity attitudes and such is more of a issue. This was a small town where everyone knew everyone and you could tell who the outsiders where. I don’t think that a few incidents of escape have now made Echo Glen a concern for the neighbors. You tore down the woods to put your homes there. When Echo Glen was built there was nothing around (a good place for it).
Yes, but now EGCC is getting an entirely new class of criminal…if I lived on the Ridge, I would not feel safe. Eventually, these things will become more and more frequent, given all the construction that is going on, and the complete lack of a perimeter fence around Echo.
Why would this become more frequent because of construction? What is the reasoning there? I suspect (speculate) Echo Glen will investigate and review this escape, find the holes, and make corrections. If a process was not followed, than the opportunity was seized by the escapee. If this was a novel, new escape, measures will be taken to adjust. It is not as if Echo Glen wants the Ridge to be unsafe. They are balancing costs with capabilities in reality. Let the review process happen before jumping to solutions.
First of all, I didn’t tear down any woods. The woods were gone and the house was up when I came. Plus someone had to destroy some woods as well, back when the town of Snoqualmie was originally built. Right? The point is, things change and EGCC needs to keep up with the times.
I don’t think it is an issue of who was here first. I respect the Echo Glen’s intentions to make the unfortunate youths a better person. The reality is that they should have the necessary precautions in place to prevent someone from leaving. And there should be a social responsibility by the facility/state/county to ensure the surrounding areas are protected for unfortunate events. I was well aware on the detention center before we moved, but there appears to be gaps in the security system, and then tax dollars are used to search for their escapees.
Escapes have been happening since people have started incarcerations. This game will always happen. Better jails lead to better escapees. It happens. I support a defense-in-depth approach. The silliness with a fence is that no one here really knows if that would have made any difference. Costs plays a part as well. Timing makes a difference because this facility use to be in the middle of nowhere, and we Ridge folks are now adding more complications due to our proximity. I bet Echo Glen would welcome a suitable wall if the Ridge people were willing to pay for it. At this point, I do not believe the expense is yet justified. I am also realistic that escapes will still happen on occasion. Families need to consider that they should also take security measures on their own. That, too, is reasonable. An overreaction helps no one, and too much of that goes on these days. We cannot put bumpers on the entire world. Let us be smart, dynamic, and responsible for our own safety. It is not just an Echo Glen or City/County/State issue.
Echo Glen is an amazing facility that does state of the art work. It has been part of our community for decades. You knew it was there before you bought your home. Trust me, it isn’t the kids inside Echo Glen that you need to worry about. Why don’t you do what I did and walk your kids to school? Don’t complain about Echo Glen until you learn more about it. I was fortunate to spend several hours there and meet with the director. We need this kind of facility to give our children a second chance. You moved near to Echo Glen, not the other way around. It is an asset, not a danger to our community.
I feel that there is a need to upgrade security at Echo Glen. After all the situation there is changing in regards to proximity of new residential construction , and the
types of offenders being detained there. With the growth in the tax base of the city of Snoqualmie there is no reason the city could not contribute to funds for this purpose, or levy a fee to the builders who wish to develop properties near the facility.