Convicted killer missing from Vancouver Island prison as RCMP launch major search

CALGARY — Police are searching for a convicted murderer who is believed to have escaped from a federal prison on Vancouver Island, prompting a large-scale response involving ground patrols, police dogs and aerial surveillance.The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) said staff at the minimum-security William Head Institution in Metchosin discovered inmate Ernest Egon Jensen, 69, was missing during a routine headcount at approximately noon Sunday.Jensen is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder and has been incarcerated since 1991. He has also previously served time for break-and-enter offences and trespassing.The West Shore RCMP has issued a warrant for Jensen's arrest for being unlawfully at large and described him as dangerous.Officers have deployed extensive resources around the prison and surrounding area as the search continues.“You will see a heavy police presence in the area near William Head Institution as police officers continue their search outside the facility and William Head staff continue a comprehensive search inside their institution grounds,” RCMP said in an official statement..Federal prison system has 28% more staff than inmates as costs top $4 billion .Police Dog Services and RCMP Air Services have also been brought in to assist with the search.Jensen is described as five-foot-eight, bald and of heavy build.Authorities are warning the public not to approach him if spotted and instead call 911 immediately.Anyone with information about Jensen's whereabouts is asked to contact West Shore RCMP at 250-474-2264.The escape has renewed concerns about inmate security at William Head Institution, which was the site of another high-profile escape in 2019.In July of that year, inmates James Lee Busch and Zachary Armitage escaped the prison by walking around a perimeter fence during low tide. Two days later, the pair murdered 60-year-old Martin Payne, a provincial government mail carrier who lived roughly eight kilometres from the institution.Busch and Armitage were later arrested and convicted of first-degree murder in Payne's death.The latest escape also drew criticism from Conservative MP Aaron Gunn, who argued convicted murderers should not be housed in minimum-security facilities..Posting on social media platform X, Gunn said a convicted murderer serving a life sentence had escaped after being transferred to a minimum-security institution under the Liberal government.“The last time this happened in 2019 (from the same federal prison in Metchosin), the escaped convicts murdered an innocent person,” Gunn wrote.“Hoping this time the police are able to locate the individual in question before more lives are lost.”Gunn added that offenders convicted of violent crimes such as murder should never be housed in minimum-security prisons and urged residents to remain vigilant as the search continues.

Convicted killer missing from Vancouver Island prison as RCMP launch major search

Related Stories

Search suspended for six missing after charter boat sinks near Vancouver airport

Three dead after clam fishing boat capsizes near Savary Island

Retired RCMP officer acquitted in alleged repatriation plot with China

SLOBODIAN: Stop coddling violent teens — Red Deer’s brutal assault demands real punishment