WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Virginia State Police said a man who escaped Eastern State Hospital early Monday has been found. The search concluded around noon Tuesday.
James City County Police said they were alerted to a person fitting the description of Christopher Feagin, 32, inside a convenience store in the 6400 block of Richmond Road/Route 60. Investigations confirmed that Christopher Feagin is one of several aliases used over the years. He actually goes by Michael Lee Corey Malone.
William & Mary students were sent this alert after an escapee escaped the Eastern State Hospital, less than 2 miles away from campus. Feagin is considered armed and dangerous. pic.twitter.com/nwhNByz878
— Leondra Head (@Leondrahead) October 25, 2022
State Police said he escaped around 1:40 a.m. Monday.
The hospital Feagin escaped from is within two miles of William & Mary's campus. Students at William & Mary received an alert saying Feagin may be near campus. On William & Mary students said they were on high alert.
Virginia State Police are asking for assistance in locating an escapee from Eastern State Hospital. For more info go to: https://t.co/Shv6mm6zHP
— William & Mary News (@WMNews) October 24, 2022
"Since campus is so open and you can walk by anybody, it’s scary to know that you could walk by somebody who escaped a mental hospital. I probably won’t be walking around too late at night," Anaya Moore, a sophomore, said.
This is the second alert on William and Mary’s campus in just a few days. There was an active threat alerting students to shelter in place on Oct. 22. After the campus was secure, police found no reports of an active shooter.
"Even earlier this week, when we had the anonymous threat, they locked us all down and I was locked in the baker space in the hall and they had the police come immediately," Moore said.
"I think it’s a very strange situation considering we had an anonymous threat two days ago. Campus security is under a lot of stress right now," Ari Miller, a senior student said.
Feagin was previously arrested in August by the Virginia Beach Police Department, and also has ties to Lexington, South Carolina, according to State Police. He does not have a last known address.
Anyone who sees him or has information on where he might be should call Virginia State Police at 757-424-6800. State Police said people should not approach Feagin due to his criminal past.
The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services on Tuesday released a statement regarding the incident, saying it can't discuss individuals' care due to state and federal privacy laws. The full statement is below:
We can confirm that a patient eloped from Eastern State Hospital shortly before 2am on the morning of Monday, October 24th. Upon discovery of this, the hospital notified Virginia State Police, James City County Police, Williamsburg Police, and the William & Mary Police Department. Virginia State Police have confirmed that the individual was located and taken into custody on October 25th (VSP put a press release out about this that I can forward if you don't already have it). DBHDS is grateful to the work of the James City County Police Department and the Virginia State Police for safely locating this individual.
Because all DBHDS hospitals provide mental health care, we are bound by state and federal privacy laws and cannot discuss specific individuals under our care. We can confirm Eastern State has begun conducting an internal investigation concerning this incident and how it occurred. While this was a forensic patient (someone who has come to a state hospital through the criminal justice system), elopements also includes civil patients, which is someone who comes to a state hospital through a court order such as a Temporary Detention Order (TDO). An elopement is defined as the departure of a patient from a psychiatric hospital without permission. While state hospitals work hard to prevent elopements and they are not a frequent occurrence, elopements do occur at most facilities each year. A common example of this might be when a civil patient does not return to a facility while on a day pass. When an elopement happens at a state hospital, staff begins conducting an internal investigation to assess what happened and how safety and security measures at that facility can be improved. This includes internal public safety investigations and quality and risk management investigations.It is important to remember that psychiatric hospitals are not prisons. Security staff make rounds and are present to ensure patient and staff safety, but it is required to be delivered in as therapeutic a way as possible.Ensuring the safety of the patients and staff at Eastern State and the surrounding community is critically important. We are grateful to all those who worked to bring about a safe outcome in this case.
Because all DBHDS hospitals provide mental health care, we are bound by state and federal privacy laws and cannot discuss specific individuals under our care. We can confirm Eastern State has begun conducting an internal investigation concerning this incident and how it occurred.
While this was a forensic patient (someone who has come to a state hospital through the criminal justice system), elopements also includes civil patients, which is someone who comes to a state hospital through a court order such as a Temporary Detention Order (TDO). An elopement is defined as the departure of a patient from a psychiatric hospital without permission. While state hospitals work hard to prevent elopements and they are not a frequent occurrence, elopements do occur at most facilities each year. A common example of this might be when a civil patient does not return to a facility while on a day pass.
When an elopement happens at a state hospital, staff begins conducting an internal investigation to assess what happened and how safety and security measures at that facility can be improved. This includes internal public safety investigations and quality and risk management investigations.
It is important to remember that psychiatric hospitals are not prisons. Security staff make rounds and are present to ensure patient and staff safety, but it is required to be delivered in as therapeutic a way as possible.
Ensuring the safety of the patients and staff at Eastern State and the surrounding community is critically important. We are grateful to all those who worked to bring about a safe outcome in this case.
Lauren Cunningham
Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services
