Morgan Hill
– Two teen escapees from the William F. James Boys Ranch were
apprehended Friday morning by Morgan Hill Police.
Morgan Hill – Two teen escapees from the William F. James Boys Ranch were apprehended Friday morning by Morgan Hill Police.
Since January, a total of eight teens in three separate incidents have run away from the Santa Clara County Probation Department facility in northeast Morgan Hill. All have been caught.
“What concerns me is why didn’t they know they were missing,” Morgan Hill Police Chief Bruce Cumming said Friday afternoon.
There has been an increased public focus on the ranch since January when four youths fled following a gang fight. The probation department agreed to notify Morgan Hill police within 10 minutes of an escape.
Kathy Duque, deputy chief probation officer, acknowledged early Friday evening that ranch staff did not notify Morgan Hill Police in a timely manner.
“Notification of the Morgan Hill Police Department didn’t take place as quickly as new guidelines require,” she said in a statement.
Cumming estimated the escape took place about 8:30am and said the call came in from the citizen who spotted the boys after 9am.
“They managed to get at least a mile and a half away, were gone for a considerable time, but no one was aware of that,” he said. “I have asked (the probation department, which oversees ranch operations) to find out what went wrong, to find out how things can be tightened up.”
The two teens, 15 and 17, were seen near the Marie Callender’s restaurant at Cochrane Road and Sutter Boulevard in north Morgan Hill.
A citizen noticed their distinctive clothing and called police, Cumming said. The boys were wearing khaki-colored tops and green pants.
Upon seeing police, both boys fled.
One was caught near the restaurant, the second was apprehended about 45 minutes later a short distance away.
Chief Probation Officer Sheila Mitchell, who was out of the office, released a statement on the escape attempt.
“The James Ranch facility was secured and the Morgan Hill Police Department initiated a search for the two youths, setting up a secure perimeter around the facility. The two youths were apprehended by the Morgan Hill Police Department by 10:40am.”
There are 82 boys currently at the facility, according to Mitchell.
In coming weeks, Santa Clara County Executive Pete Kutras will recommend that the board of supervisors commit to spending close to half a million dollars annually to install and operate a global positioning system at the ranch in which each boy would be fitted with an ankle bracelet.
