A federal inmate serving life for murder escaped from a Quebec prison Monday – only to be found hundreds of kilometres away in Toronto.
When Ricardo Vilches was absent from the Archambault Institution in Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec, during a noon head count, authorities say they realized he had left the minimum security unit. Correctional Service Canada (CSC) said an arrest warrant was issued for Vilches and he was arrested by Toronto police around 5:45 p.m. that same day.
In an email to Media, CSC spokesperson Esther Mailhot stated, “The CSC takes all escapes very seriously, as the safety and security of our communities remains the paramount consideration.” Vilches was convicted of second-degree murder for the 1985 death of his then-wife, Patricia Fierro-Vilches, and has been in prison for the past 30 years. Vilches’ escape comes just a few days after two inmates with a “violent history” escaped from another Ontario minimal security institution. Corrections officials say they will look into the circumstances. Jay Sedore, 70, and Michael Karas, 68, were found in a Toronto hotel shortly before 8 p.m. on Thursday, Ontario Provincial Police said, after escaping the prison hours earlier.
At Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst in February, Sedore and Karas were discovered missing during a routine inmate count around 6:30 p.m. 19, said CSC. Both were housed in the minimum-security unit of the multi-level prison.
Convicted killer serving life sentence escapes Quebec prison, caught in Toronto
