Coquitlam RCMP are on the lookout for a patient they say failed to return to the psychiatric hospital at Colony Farm.
Adam Yvan Gorges was reported missing from the Coquitlam Forensic Psychiatric Hospital on Friday evening and is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for being unlawfully at large.
The Mounties say Gorges may behave in a way that presents a risk to himself or the public, and ask anyone who sees him to stay back and call 911.
This is at least the second time Gorges has escaped the psychiatric hospital since he was admitted. In June, he went missing for about five days when he failed to return to the hospital while on a day pass.
Over Christmas, Gorges was released from the hospital for the first time in four years so he could visit his family in Kelowna, according to his sister Frances Gorges, who told The Tri-City News the family didn’t find out what happened until they saw it on the news.
Frances Gorges suspects her brother failed to take his medication at some point over the holidays. That, she speculated, led to a psychotic break on a trip that was a trial on the long road to integrating Adam back into society.
“He just shuts down. He’ll stop talking and pace, smile and laugh,” she told The Tri-City News, adding that her brother’s mental illness has never led him to be violent.
Their mother called the police, and Gorges was eventually transferred back to the Colony Farm hospital earlier this week.
Still, Frances Gorges questioned why the hospital would let her brother out on a four hour day pass so soon after he experienced a psychotic break, especially considering an earlier mix up left his clothes and guitar — his prized possession — in Kelowna.
“That could have been a trigger,” said Frances Gorges. “I’m confused why they allowed him to leave.”
It’s now been around 24 hours since Gorges went missing, and as a man who more than once gave all his possessions to a homeless person, his family is worried.
“I just want to make sure he’s safe,” said the sister.
For those with information about Gorges whereabouts, you can also call Coquitlam RCMP’s non-emergency number at 604-945-1550.
Gorges has long brown hair with hazel eyes, a moustache and beard. He comes in at five feet ten inches tall (155 cm) and 174 lbs (79kg), according to police.
