By Walt Glines – Morgan Hill Times Editor
Morgan Hill
– A 17-year-old boy escaped from the William F. James Boys Ranch
early Wednesday morning.
The teen, who had left his bed to go to the restroom, ran
through the main door of a dormitory at 2:38am after evading county
probation department staff members on duty.
By Walt Glines – Morgan Hill Times Editor
Morgan Hill – A 17-year-old boy escaped from the William F. James Boys Ranch early Wednesday morning.
The teen, who had left his bed to go to the restroom, ran through the main door of a dormitory at 2:38am after evading county probation department staff members on duty. A search of the area by Morgan Hill Police and Santa Clara County Sheriff deputies was unsuccessful.
The escape comes less than a day after two other youths escaped Tuesday morning. They were captured less than an hour later a short distance away.
Since January, a total of 11 teens in five separate incidents have run away from the facility on Malaguerra Avenue in northeast Morgan Hill. All except the latest escapee and one from January have been caught.
“In our endeavor to ensure the immediate safety of the community, the probation department is working closely with the Morgan Hill Police Department and the Sheriff’s office towards the apprehension of the minor,” said Sheila Mitchell, chief officer for the Santa Clara County Probation Department.
“Furthermore, we are considering additional security measures to prevent future runaways from the James Ranch facility. The county executive, Board of Supervisors and the probation department view community safety as a top priority.”
The Board of Supervisors, which is responsible for ranch operations, will consider on Tuesday spending almost $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.
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.
