FUGITIVE

New York Prisoner Captured in New Jersey After Using Towels to Escape

Yenchun Chen, 44, allegedly scaled down the building from the fifth floor and landed on an A/C unit before hopping in a taxi.

A 44-year-old prisoner who scaled down five floors of a New York City hospital with a DIY rope made of towels was captured in New Jersey Thursday, according to the NYPD. Police said Yenchun Chen, in custody for criminal possession of a controlled substance, was brought to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital last Friday for a cardiac issue. On Wednesday, Chen reportedly asked for extra towels to take a shower and soon after fled out of his window without anyone noticing, authorities said. He allegedly landed on an air conditioning unit on the second floor, used a ladder to get down on the street, and hopped in a taxi. Chen has been described as a 6’3, 250-pound man with tattoos on his left arm and hand. “When I heard a prisoner escaped through a window, I was just kind of shocked when it happened,” one nurse told ABC 7 NY. The details of his arrest remain unclear, and an investigation into his escape—such as why he wasn’t held at a more secure hospital ward—is underway.