KING COUNTY, Wash. — All seven teens who escaped Echo Glen Children's Center this weekend are now back in custody, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.
Echo Glen is a medium-maximum security facility run by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).
Three of the teens who escaped were apprehended in Burien on Sunday. Law enforcement took the other four into custody on Monday night in Clark County. DCYF worked with law enforcement statewide in the investigation and search efforts.
A family member of one of the four escapees who were still on the run Monday called 911 after finding the group at their home. The juveniles were taken into custody near Walnut Grove Park in Vancouver, Wash.
On Tuesday the three juveniles who were apprehended near Burien had their first appearances in a King County court.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office talked about how two of the inmates locked a staff member in a cell.
"She was taken by force, brutally beaten and placed inside a cell where she is not expected to be, said the prosecutor.
The three juveniles are in custody at the Clark Children and Family Justice Center. Their next court appearances are scheduled for June 2. The remaining teens are in the custody of the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
KCSO deputies responded to Echo Glen just after midnight Sunday after they received a 911 call from the center. Echo Glenn staff reported the teens assaulted one of the staff members, stole a vehicle and fled the area in a white Chevrolet Equinox.
The Equinox was recovered in Vancouver, Wash., according to the sheriff's office.
Investigators traced three of the teens 30 miles west of the detention center to Burien, where a neighbor said she saw three teens running from police out of an apartment complex there.
This escape comes after several in 2022. In January 2022, five teens were accused of overpowering staff, locking them in cells and stealing a nurse's car to leave the facility's grounds. In April 2022, a juvenile escaped for several hours after hopping the fence.
One of the teens who escaped in January 2022 – Timothy G. Hernandez-Ebanks – was also involved in the escape on Sunday. He has been apprehended.
Despite the recent funding Echo Glen received for security upgrades, an employee at Echo Glen who wishes to remain anonymous told KING 5 that they’ve had issues with being understaffed within the detention center and that it’s made their security laxer.
KCSO says the investigation into how the teens escaped is still ongoing.
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