Murderer escapes prison
DORCHESTER, N.B. — A warrant has been issued for a convicted murderer who walked away from the minimum security area of a New Brunswick prison.
Dorchester Penitentiary staff noticed inmate Steven Bugden was missing during the 10 p.m. count Wednesday, assistant warden Emile Belliveau says.
Bugden had been in the condo where he lived with about four other inmates during a count six hours earlier, he said.
“He was discovered not in his living unit at 10 o’clock last night, and as soon as that happened a correctional officer contacted the local RCMP and reported that the inmate was missing from his living unit,” Belliveau said.
“They can walk out if they want. There’s no walls or perimeter around the minimum sector at the Dorchester Institution,” he said.
Bugden was serving an indeterminate sentence for second-degree murder, but no other details were provided. Belliveau said he had been considered low-risk for public safety and there had been no incidents with him at Dorchester prior to his escape. RCMP Const. Dan Hilchie said officers searched the facility and surrounding area with a police dog and have widened their search area. Hilchie couldn’t say if the inmate is considered dangerous.
“We don’t know his frame of mind at this point. We’re trying to establish that, but he is in the custody of the Dorchester Penitentiary for a reason,” he said.
Police describe the 45-year-old inmate as being 5’5”, about 188 pounds and having a fair complexion, blue eyes and blond hair.
The Canadian Press