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Monday, June 05, 2000

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.