A convicted killer who went missing from a minimum-security prison in Mission, B.C. has now been recaptured.
Staff at Mission Institution discovered 53-year-old Robert Raymond Dezwaan was not there while performing roll call just before 4 p.m. Friday.
RCMP were contacted and an arrest warrant was issued.
Dezwaan was apprehended by Fraser Valley RCMP at approximately 11:15 a.m. Saturday, Correctional Service Canada (CSC) confirmed.
Dezwaan was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2001 killing of 16-year-old Cherish Oppenheim near Merritt. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years.
He is the third murderer to escape from Mission Institution since 2014.
Following Dezwaan’s escape, CSC released a statement saying:
“CSC evaluates all offenders and places them in facilities appropriate to their security and program requirements.
“Only those offenders who are assessed as having a low risk to public safety will be placed in a minimum security institution.
“The perimeter of a minimum-security institution is defined but not directly controlled. Offender movement and association within the institution are regulated under minimal supervision.”
– With files from The Canadian Press