Monday, June 05,
2000 Police head into bush after escaped
Chinese migrants Seven flee B.C. prison
holding hundreds of refugee claimants
Mark Thoburn National Post,
with files from The Province and The Vancouver Sun
Dave Milne, The Canadian
Press RCMP used dogs to search the
dense bush area near the Prince George Regional Correctional
Centre yesterday, after seven Chinese migrants escaped from
the prison Saturday. A few square miles in the area have been
secured and searchers are now using helicopters equipped with
infrared lighting, but the migrants remain at
large.
| PRINCE GEORGE,
B.C. - Police were last night searching for a group of Chinese
migrants who entered Canada illegally on one of four cargo ships
last summer but escaped from a medium security prison three days
ago.
A civilian member of the local search and rescue spotted one of
the seven escapees early yesterday afternoon in the bush, about a
half-kilometre from the prison. Police sent out search dogs and a
helicopter, which located the 30-year-old man within minutes.
Police said they had no reason to believe the migrants had left
the bush, more than 500 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
"They thought they stood a fair chance outside of the wall," said
Constable Mike Herchuk. He said the man was taken safely into
custody and appeared to be healthy.
Police planned to use a helicopter with infrared lighting to
search for the remaining migrants last night.
Search dogs picked up the escapees' scent on Saturday afternoon
southeast of the city, east of the Fraser River. The migrants were
headed deep into a sparsely populated area infested with bugs and
inhabited by a mother bear and her cub.
After four hours of working their way through mud and brush,
police called off their search but resumed yesterday with the aid of
a helicopter equipped with infrared night search equipment.
"They are going through some creeks and pretty rough stuff," said
Const. Herchuk. "It's a very, very rugged area; steep hills,
ravines, bogs, wild animals galore."
"We don't know how they all escaped together; somehow they all
got out en masse."
He said while the migrants are not considered dangerous, they
will be stressed and scared. "There will definitely be a
communication problem."
The migrants escaped together from the Prince George Regional
Corrections Centre, crossing a highway and heading into the wild.
Six of the men were dressed in white prison uniforms; the seventh
was wearing a gray uniform. Police later found the clothing near the
prison. RCMP and correctional staff set up a perimeter to contain
the escapees.
Sheldon Green, a provincial corrections spokesman, said the men
apparently escaped from the kitchen area.
The men were among 590 Chinese migrants who arrived off the West
Coast last summer aboard four leaky cargo chips. Almost all of them
made refugee claims and have remained in detention since their
arrival. Most claims have been rejected and 113 migrants have been
deported. Some 168 migrants, including 24 women, are being held at
the Prince George prison, which was reopened after six years to hold
the migrants. Ninety migrants were sent back to China on May 10 in
the largest mass deportation in recent Canadian history.
Recently, a 26-year-old Chinese migrant escaped from the Prince
George detention centre but was captured eight hours later when RCMP
were called to a break-and-enter complaint in town.
A B.C. Corrections spokesman said the man had climbed over a high
fence surrounding an outside yard.
The opening statement of a trial in Vancouver last Wednesday has
also raised migrant issues.
Nine Korean seamen found aboard a fishing vessel intercepted by
Canadian enforcement officials offshore last August are facing
charges including human smuggling, failing to provide the
necessities of life and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
Last month, Tom Long, a Canadian Alliance leadership candidate,
promised tougher penalties for refugee claimants if he becomes prime
minister.
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