RCMP say prisoner escape in Peace River was planned
Posted Jan 26, 2016 12:03 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
PEACE RIVER, Alta. – R-C-M-P in Peace River, Alberta say it appears the escape of a prisoner on his way to hospital yesterday was planned.
An armed, masked gunman stopped two Alberta correctional officers and freed an inmate on his way to a scheduled hospital visit.
Mounties say Harley John Lay, who is 29, was being escorted by two guards to Peace River hospital Monday when they were confronted in the hospital parking lot by a man who was wearing a mask and carrying a firearm.
The gunman and Lay jumped into a mini-van being driven by a third man and high-tailed it out of town.
Constable Nicole Viergutz says investigators are trying to locate Lay and his associates and are hoping for information from the public.
A union official says the incident shows just how dangerous the job of a correctional officer is and that counselling is being provided to the two officers.
