Two youths escape juvenile center

A 15-year-old girl and another youth escaped from a juvenile center in Sebastian County on Wednesday night, the Arkansas Department of Human Services said in a news release.

The two youths ran from the Mansfield Juvenile Treatment Center at 7 p.m., shortly after dinner, the release said. Staff members at the facility and a team of tracking dogs were unable to find the two who ran into a heavily-wooded area. Law enforcement had been notified Wednesday night.

One of the youths was identified as Abbigale Long, 15, who was described as white, 118 pounds and 5 feet, 5 inches tall. She has black hair and brown eyes.

Long had been at the facility a few days and had been committed on a felony crime against a person, the release said.

Arkansas Code requires the Department of Human Services Division of Youth Services to notify the public of a juvenile’s departure from a youth services center if the youth could have been charged as an adult at the time he was committed.

The other youth was not named in the release because he did not meet that requirement.

The Mansfield Juvenile Treatment Center is on a 236-acre property at the base of the Poteau Mountains, according to the department’s website. At the facility, the program uses aspects of military dress and discipline “to reinforce a comprehensive education and vocational regimen,” the website said.