By Walt Glines – Morgan Hill Times Editor
Morgan Hill
– The Santa Clara County Probation Department beefed up security
Thursday at the William F. James Boys Ranch following an early
morning escape by two 18-year-olds. It was the third escape in as
many days.
By Walt Glines – Morgan Hill Times Editor
Morgan Hill – The Santa Clara County Probation Department beefed up security Thursday at the William F. James Boys Ranch following an early morning escape by two 18-year-olds. It was the third escape in as many days.
The two teens ran away from the facility on Malaguerra Avenue in northeast Morgan Hill at 1:57am. They bolted from their beds and ran out a rear exit door of a dormitory.
A search of the area by Sheriff’s deputies and Morgan Hill police was unsuccessful.
Two additional probation security staff were added to the graveyard shift at the ranch, starting tonight, said Bill Fu, public information officer for the probation department. The Sheriff’s office also will add an additional graveyard shift deputy patrol (K-9 unit) for security.
A 17-year-old boy ran away from the facility early Wednesday morning. He, too, remains at large. Two other youths escaped Tuesday morning, and were captured a short distance away less than hour later.
“The probation department is taking the recent runaway incidents very seriously,” Fu said Thursday morning.
The probation department is attempting to organize a meeting in the near future to talk with neighbors and other interested community members about steps being taken to increase security, Fu said.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, which is responsible for ranch operations, will consider Tuesday spending about $500,000 for a GPS monitoring system. The youths would wear ankle bracelets that would alert officials if they attempted to leave the ranch property.
In Thursday’s escape, both teens were wearing T-shirts, briefs and sandals.
Ranch staff followed security procedures and immediately secured the rest of the dorm area, Fu said. The staff then notified Morgan Hill police of the runaways.
The Sheriff’s office also assigned a deputy to remain on the grounds for the reminder of the evening.
“We were called almost immediately,” Morgan Hill Police Lt. Terrie Booten said Thursday. “We had four units on the scene looking for them.”
The search included a bike path that runs past the ranch toward San Jose.
“It’s great they’re increasing security,” Booten said. “Anything we can do to alleviate the situation is good.”
Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage said he has asked Sheila Mitchell, chief officer for the County Probation Department, to determine if the increase in runaways might be related to increased gang activities.
“I’m pleased with the additional security measures,” Gage said. “It’s costing us money, but it’s something we have to do.”
On April 1, two teens ran away from the ranch, which is located in a wooded, rural area near Anderson Lake County Park. They were located several miles away, near the Cochrane Plaza shopping center, where a citizen spotted the boys and called police. The police department in turn called the ranch and notified staff that the boys had escaped.
Mitchell said the department is conducting an internal investigation into that incident.
Since January, a total of 13 teens in six separate incidents have run away from the facility. All but the two from Thursday, one from Wednesday and one from a January escape have been captured.
