Man accused of attempted murder escaped hospital, cops say. He was found stuck in mud
An inmate who escaped an Oregon hospital was found after getting stuck armpit-deep in mud, according to police.
Rescuers responded to a report of a possible body in a Portland pond shortly after 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 1, Oregon State Police said.
When they arrived, they found a person “stuck in the mud” and “buried up to their armpits,” police said.
The man was rescued after an hour and taken to a hospital, where an employee “noticed he resembled Christopher Pray,” a man who escaped Oregon State Hospital in Salem on Wednesday, Aug. 30, police said.
Pray, who police called “extremely dangerous,” fled from the hospital after stealing a 2016 Dodge Caravan, authorities said.
Authorities confirmed that the rescued man was Pray.
“At the time of his escape, he was fully restrained with leg shackles, a belly chain, handcuffs, and a restraint connecting all three together,” police said.
Pray was jailed on a number of charges, including attempted aggravated murder, and was transferred to the hospital on Aug. 30, according to police.
Pray was arrested and taken into custody, police said, adding that they are investigating Pray’s escape.
This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Man accused of attempted murder escaped hospital, cops say. He was found stuck in mud."
