The Inland Echo

By Sgt. Dave Reagan

The search for missing Eastern State Hospital patient Phillip Arnold Paul continues today with assets from the Washington State Department of Corrections, Washington State Patrol, Spokane Police Department and this sheriff’s office coordinated through a command post established in the Public Safety Building.

The sheriff’s helicopter, Air 1, has been called out and should be patrolling known hobo camps along the Spokane River and BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad right of ways by noon.

Capture of Paul remains the focus of current law enforcement efforts.  Yakima County Friday morning issued a felony warrant for his arrest charging him with Failure to Comply with the Terms of Commitment.  It carries with it Nationwide Extradition.

Spokane County investigators anticipated crafting an arrest warrant charging Paul with Escape, but learned Friday morning that they have no jurisdiction because the escapee’s commitment was from Yakima County Superior Court.

Still, the Failure to Comply warrant should ensure that any contact with law enforcement should result in Paul’s immediate arrest.

New information from Dept. of Social Health Services (DSHS) indicates that Paul’s medication should keep him stable for 14 days, not 48 hours as was reported to law enforcement yesterday.  The medication is administered by injection, and he received his last dose within the past two or three days.

The spokesman also reported that Paul has previously been released back into the community, but that those releases have not worked out for one reason or another and he has been re-institutionalized.

Sheriff Knezovich reaffirmed with his investigative staff Friday morning that recovering the escapee remains his highest priority.   Another search update is planned for about 4 p.m. today.

3:45PM UPDATE:

Despite the efforts of dozens of area law enforcement investigators and overhead searches by the sheriff’s helicopter Air One, missing Eastern State Hospital escapee Phillip Paul remains at large at 3:45 p.m.

The helicopter’s air crew reported several instances where they spotted a subject who closely matched the suspect, but ground officers called in to make the identification reported no arrest.

Spokane Police had two teams of officers searching known transient camps, but they too reported no success.

Photos of Paul have been distributed statewide and locally to the railroads, Intermodal Center and Airport.  All known relatives of the escapee have been notified of his disappearance.

At the same time, undercover detectives from the sheriff’s office, Spokane Police Department and Department of Corrections continued looking for residences or other locations possibly linked to the missing Paul who walked away from an ESH field trip to the Spokane County Fair yesterday.

Members of the command post set up inside the Public Safety Building spent the day liaising with law enforcement officials in Yakima and Grant Counties, and with police in Lewiston, Idaho.

Scores of citizen tips continued to be phoned into the Crime Check center and they were dispatched to deputies or officers in the field for immediate response.

About mid-afternoon, a representative for Director of Prisons Dick Morgan called and offered the use of a Washington State Inmate Recovery Team.  Sheriff Knezovich asked his incident commander to get them here to assist local efforts.

The sheriff also directed members of the helicopter air teams to continue their search from overhead Saturday morning.

The sheriff plans on attending a 4 p.m. press briefing by Department of Human Resources Director Susan N. Dreyfus.  He will be available afterward to answer questions about ongoing efforts to locate and arrest Phillip Paul.

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