Non-Escape From Philly Prison

This came across our email box on Saturday:

Inmate Worker Escapes from Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility

Prison Officials discovered this morning that George Wheeler, a 36 year-old inmate, had escaped from Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. Wheeler was admitted to PPS on March 15, 2006. He was held on $150,000 bail, awaiting trial on charges of rape, unlawful restraint, aggravated indecent assault, statutory sexual assault and indecent exposure.

Fortunately, this came across a few hours later:

“Escaped” Inmate found in Prison Kitchen at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility

Prison officials, who spent most of the day trying to reconstruct the movements of a 36 year-old inmate, George Wheeler, who had disappeared sometime Friday evening, were surprised to learn that a kitchen officer found the escapee in the CFCF kitchen, hiding behind an oven. The officer heard noises in the ceiling, and then saw movement behind the oven, and ordered the inmate to come out. Inmate George Wheeler came out from behind the oven at 5:40 PM on Saturday, June 24, 2006. He had been hiding in the jail’s kitchen for nearly 24 hours. The kitchen at CFCF takes up over an acre of ground, and provides meals for the entire prison complex – over 30,000 meals a day.

Full press releases on the non-escape-and-capture after the jump.

Release #1:

For Immediate Release: June 24, 2006

Inmate Worker Escapes from Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility

Prison Officials discovered this morning that George Wheeler, a 36 year-old inmate, had escaped from Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. Wheeler was admitted to PPS on March 15, 2006. He was held on $150,000 bail, awaiting trial on charges of rape, unlawful restraint, aggravated indecent assault, statutory sexual assault and indecent exposure.

“It is our job to hold inmates securely, and to be able to account for their whereabouts at all times,” said Commissioner Leon A. King. “Right now we need to determine how this happened and why.” Prison officials are investigating the events of the past forty-eight hours to determine why the escape wasn’t discovered sooner.

Wheeler, also known as George Williams, is described as African-American, brown eyes, 5′4″ and weighing 130 pounds. His last known address was in the 3300 block of Agate Street in the Frankford section of Philadelphia.

An inmate worker, Wheeler was last seen by fellow inmates on his housing unit on Friday afternoon, June 23, 2006, getting ready to go to his job in the CFCF kitchen.

His escape was discovered on Saturday, June 24, 2006 as the 7-3 shift came on duty. Officers did their initial rounds of the housing unit (A.2.1), and discovered that he was missing. After a facility search and investigation, his absence was presumed an escape, and notifications were made to the Philadelphia police and other officials.

The investigation is ongoing as Prison’s Internal Affairs Division works in concert with the Philadelphia Police Department.

Release #2:

For Immediate Release: June 24, 2006

“Escaped” Inmate found in Prison Kitchen at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility

Prison officials, who spent most of the day trying to reconstruct the movements of a 36 year-old inmate, George Wheeler, who had disappeared sometime Friday evening, were surprised to learn that a kitchen officer found the escapee in the CFCF kitchen, hiding behind an oven. The officer heard noises in the ceiling, and then saw movement behind the oven, and ordered the inmate to come out. Inmate George Wheeler came out from behind the oven at 5:40 PM on Saturday, June 24, 2006. He had been hiding in the jail’s kitchen for nearly 24 hours. The kitchen at CFCF takes up over an acre of ground, and provides meals for the entire prison complex – over 30,000 meals a day.

Earlier in the day, the Prison System had announced that Wheeler had escaped from the System’s close-custody facility. Unable to identify his whereabouts for over 18 hours, the expectation was that he had escaped.

An inmate worker, Wheeler was last seen on his housing unit on Friday, June 23, 2006, getting ready to go to his job in the CFCF kitchen. Prison Internal Affairs officers are interviewing Wheeler now, as part of their ongoing investigation.