Echo Glen juvenile escapees to remain in custody in Seattle

All seven teens who escaped from Echo Glen Children’s Center will remain in custody in Seattle, following a judge’s ruling.

Four of the teens appeared in court Wednesday afternoon, following the three others who went before a judge on Tuesday. All seven — who range in age from 15 to 17 — face similar charges of robbery, assault, and theft of a motor vehicle, and some face an additional kidnapping charge.

Rantz: 4 remaining Echo Glen inmates have been captured

According to court documents, while some of the teens caused a distraction, others attacked a female corrections officer, stole her phone and white Chevy Equinox, and used it to escape the facility shortly after midnight on May 28. Ryan Schmidt with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office said some of the teens “pinned her, continued to assault her, then dragged her into the common area, had her sit on the chair. Then dragged her into one of the cells and locked her in, and then left in the victim’s car.”

Three of the escaped juveniles were located Sunday afternoon in Burien. The sheriff’s office tweeted just after 9 p.m. Sunday that a white Chevrolet Equinox that was taken from the facility during the escape was recovered in Vancouver, Wash. That’s where Clark County deputies captured the other four Monday night. According to a media release, a family member of one of the escapees called 911 to report all four of the juveniles were at their home when they returned from the store. The juveniles then left on foot.

Deputies, using unmarked cars, looked through the area and spotted them near Northeast 76th Avenue and Northeast 61st Way. The juveniles then walked into a field at Walnut Grove Elementary School.

Once the juveniles noticed law enforcement, three of them ran southbound, where they were met by deputies and Vancouver police officers. All three were taken into custody without incident. The fourth juvenile ran back to the family member’s home, where he was found and taken into custody without incident.

Rantz: Echo Glen youth inmates armed with shanks ignited fire, demanded McDonald’s

None of the teens are being returned to Echo Glen at this time. Currently, all seven are at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle.

Judge Samuel Chung found probable cause to hold each of the teens at their hearings, saying “the alleged victim was assaulted, was pinned against a wall and assaulted again. She was locked up in [a cell] and wasn’t discovered for over an hour.” At the prosecutor’s request, Judge Chung also issued a no contact order for the teens, barring them from communicating with the alleged victim in the case, or each other.

The teens have not yet been charged for any crimes related to their escape. The King County Prosecutor’s office has until Friday to file. If charged, the teens are all expected to be arraigned in court on Monday, June 5.