Psychiatric patient located after walking away from Colony Farm forensic hospital

Coqutiam RCMP says a man who was unlawfully at large from the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, commonly known as Colony Farm, has been located.

Christopher Thomas Askey, 51, was reported overdue on a day pass from the facility just after 7 p.m., Saturday, and police were seeking him on a warrant under the Mental Health Act, according to police.

“Askey may behave in a way that presents a risk to (himself) or the public, so if you see Askey, police ask that you do not approach him and instead call 911,” said RCMP in a media release.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Askey may behave in a way that presents a risk to (himself) or the public, so if you see Askey, police ask that you do not approach him and instead call 911," said RCMP in a media release.

Colony Farm houses some of B.C.’s most notorious offenders who have been found not criminally responsible due to mental illness or declared mentally unfit to stand trial.

3:35 NCR: what does the Not Criminally Responsible mean?

Court records show Askey has previous convictions for assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and robbery.

In 2019, he was the subject of a similar RCMP notice after failing to return to Colony Farm on a day pass. Askey was at large for a week before police took him into custody.

At the time the hospital’s medical director for forensic psychiatric services told Global News Askey was deemed a “very low-risk” patient when he was granted a day pass.

Askey is described as Caucasian and six feet tall with a heavy build. He has short, greyish hair, a light goatee and brown eyes, and was wearing a black jacket, black pants a blue shirt and white and black shoes.