Search continues for psychiatric hospital escapee



SPOKANE, Wash. -- An active search in a rural and rugged area of Spokane has been suspended for the night for a Western State Hospital escapee, who police consider extremely dangerous.

The search for him started around 3:30 Thursday afternoon after his parents called police, according to law enforcement officials. U.S. Marshals will do patrols throughout neighborhoods Thursday night.

Garver arrived in Spokane at 5:00 a.m. Thursday morning after he got on a bus in Seattle Wednesday night at the Seattle Bus Terminal.

One passenger, who only wanted to be known as Hilary, tells Q13 News that she remembers seeing Garver on that bus, which a source said left Seattle just before midnight. Hillary didn’t know who he was until she saw the news this morning.

“I recognized the nasty greasy hair that was in the video picture, and it knew that was him I knew exactly who it was,” said Hilary. Who was too afraid to share her last name after learning Garver is accused of tying up and killing Phillipa Evans-Lopez in 2013.

Phillipa’s mother Kris is angry with Western State Hospital for allowing this to happen.

“If they’re going to be trusted with this job then they need to take it seriously and take responsibility,” said Kris Evans, Phillipa’s mother.

They are sentiments echoed by State Senator Mark Miloscia (R-Federal Way), who says he feared something like this would happen someday.

“I’m not surprised,” said Miloscia. “From the beginning, I didn’t think Governor Inslee was managing all of the errors at Western State Hospital.”

He also fears this is just the beginning of more trouble ahead.

“I don’t trust anything right now this hospital is doing, and now I’m just scared, and I’m praying we catch this last person safely before somebody else is hurt,” said Miloscia.