A patient at the forensic psychiatric hospital is unlawfully at large, according to Coquitlam RCMP.
Christopher Thomas Joseph Askey was reported missing just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday after failing to return on a day pass.
Askey is described as a 50-year-old Caucasian with black hair, a light beard, and brown eyes. He’s about six-feet, 180 pounds with a heavy build and was last seen wearing a black jacket, grey sweat pants, a black shirt, white shoes and a dark toque.
“In situations like this we have to be very careful. People at the forensic psychiatric hospital are both inmates who are in custody and they're also patients,” said RCMP Cpl. Michael McLaughlin, adding, “In situations like these, the concern of the public and the safety of the public must come first.”
Askey has a criminal record dating back to 1998, and has been found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and several counts of robbery.
The RCMP press release said Askey may behave in a way that is a risk to himself or the public. Police advise anyone seeing him should not approach Askey and call 911 immediately. Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call the detachmen’ts non-emergency line at 604-945-1550 and quote file 2019-10714.
