The RCMP have recaptured the last of seven
Chinese migrants who escaped from a jail in British Columbia on
Saturday.
All seven men were working in
the kitchen shortly before their escape. Police used dogs and
helicopters with infrared cameras to locate six men over the
weekend. The seventh man was picked up, cold and hungry, on Monday
in a nearby community.
 Chang Zou
|
Chang Zou, 30, was the first fugitive police found about 22 hours
after the group scaled a fence and bolted from the medium-security
facility.
RCMP caught up to Zou less than half a kilometre from the Prince
George Correctional Centre. They say the man was cold and
frightened.
Several hours later, they found the five other fugitives. They
were scratched up and hungry, but police say they seemed relieved to
be discovered.
Police said they were worried about the men who had been hiding
in dense bush nearby with no food but plenty of problems — ranging
from clouds of hungry mosquitoes to territorial bears.
The detained migrants are among hundreds of Chinese citizens
caught trying to sneak into Canada last summer in dilapidated boats.
Many paid smugglers a lifetime of savings for the dangerous
voyage, only to be captured and detained by authorities on the West
Coast.
Only a small number have been granted refugee status. Many have
already been sent back to China, and the rest face deportation.
Just over two weeks ago, another illegal migrant broke out of the
same facility. He was captured a few hours later.
B.C. Attorney General Andrew Petter has ordered an investigation
into how the seven managed to escape.
