Mar 26, 2008 7:41 pm US/Eastern
Dangerous Hospital Escapee Still At Large
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WBZ) ―
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Anthony Flye, 38, of Nantucket and Swansea, escaped from the hospital where he was being treated for an injury.
WBZ
A dangerous rape suspect who escaped from St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford Tuesday is still at large.
Anthony Flye, 38, of Nantucket and Swansea, escaped from the hospital where he was being treated for an injury he sustained after jumping from the top of a stairwell at New Bedford Superior Court.
Officials said Court Officer David Jackson went with Flye to St. Luke's Hospital at 12:45 p.m. According to Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, Jackson removed Flye's handcuffs so he could call his girlfriend and use the bathroom. The officer apparently didn't accompany Flye or check the bathroom first because he was unaware there was a second way out of the facilities, Hodgson said, which is how Flye escaped.
After fleeing the hospital, Flye, wearing only a green hospital gown, jeans and slippers, tried to board a bus outside but was refused by the driver because he had no money, Hodgson said. He then fled the area on foot and hasn't been seen or heard from since.
According to police, Flye was in court to be arraigned on an indecent exposure charge.
Flye also faces a child rape charge and a charge of indecent assault and battery of a disabled person. The charges stem from a series of alleged incidents in Swansea, Nantucket and Rhode Island between 2004 and 2006.
The state's Trial Court Security Department is investigating why Flye was in the custody of just a single court officer at the hospital. According to a written statement, protocol requires that two court officers accompany any prisoner who is removed from a court to a hospital.
Hodgson is raising questions about why his department wasn't notified about Flye's escape until approximately an hour after it happened.
"There's no reason we shouldn't have been notified immediately," said Hodgson. He said his office learned of the escape when deputies reported to the hospital to relieve the court officer at 5:10, and were told Flye escaped about an hour earlier. "This is very frustrating for us and for the court officers as well because no one wants to lose a prisoner. But as we go forward we have to look at what went wrong here to put the public at risk."
The fugitive was being held on $500,000 cash bail prior to Tuesday's escape. He lives in Nantucket during the week and Swansea on the weekends.
Police say he has used several aliases in the past and has connections in Wareham, Martha's Vineyard, Rhode Island and Maine.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Flye is asked to call their local police department.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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