Prisoner rappels from fifth floor of NYC hospital with tied-up bedsheets in daring escape
A prisoner made a daring escape from a Manhattan hospital on Wednesday, rappelling down the side of the building with tied-up bedsheets before fleeing in a taxi cab, according to police and sources.
Yenchun Chen, 44, remained on the lam hours after breaking out of Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in Gramercy Park around 4:30 p.m. while in Department of Corrections custody, the NYPD said.
Chen, who was arrested on July 31 for criminal possession of a controlled substance, was hospitalized last Friday after experiencing a cardiac issue, according to a DOC spokesperson and sources.
Around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a person in scrubs approached Chen and told him they were going to bring him into the shower, sources said.
Inside the shower, he tied up some sheets and used them to descend from the fifth-floor window to a roof below, the sources said.
He then climbed a ladder down to the street below and hopped into a yellow taxi cab and took off southbound on 2nd Avenue, police and sources said.
The fugitive was described by police as approximately 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He also has tattoos on his left arm and left hand.
Police have released photos of Chen as he was last seen fleeing the hospital. He was wearing a blank white T-shirt and tan pants. He also appeared to still have a hospital bracelet on his wrist.
Those with information in regard to the whereabouts of Chen are asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
