Updated at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 21 with police capture
St. Louis County Police caught a prisoner Thursday evening who had walked out of a south St. Louis County hospital.
After searching for him for most of Thursday, St. Louis County Police officials said they captured Tommy Boyd in south county, in the 7300 block of Watson Road, after following up on leads from the public.
Local, state and federal officials mounted a massive search for Boyd after he left Mercy South Hospital early Thursday morning.
Boyd was serving a 30-year sentence for statutory sodomy. He was receiving medical treatment at the hospital before he escaped.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections said her agency is investigating how Boyd was able to leave the hospital. The hospital said two corrections officers were with Boyd when he arrived.
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Police are searching for a prisoner who walked out on his own from Mercy South Hospital early Thursday morning.
Tommy Wayne Boyd was transported from the Potosi Correctional Facility to Mercy South for medical treatment. According to St. Louis County Police, hospital personnel last saw Boyd at 3:54 a.m. Surveillance footage shows Boyd leaving the hospital.
Boyd is serving a 30-year sentence for statutory sodomy. St. Louis County Police Lt. Col. Jason Law said that county, state and federal officials are searching for Boyd.
“This suspect is a dangerous person. But we brought in the resources needed so that if anybody sees this suspect, call 911,” Law said. “Let us know his location. But do not approach this suspect.”
Mercy spokesman Joe Poelker said in an email that two Department of Corrections officers were with Boyd when he came in.
“There was no physical confrontation, no one was hurt, and video surveillance, which we have shared with police, shows the escapee leaving the hospital,” Poelker said. “Police searched campus, and our security team searched all buildings on campus and found no evidence he is still here. We continue to assist St. Louis County Police in their search and investigation.”
Law deferred to the Department of Corrections on questions regarding how Boyd was able to leave the hospital. A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections said her agency was investigating how Boyd managed to escape.
Mehlville School District officials placed Hagemann Elementary School, Trautwein Elementary School and Washington Middle School on lockdown. All students and staff were brought into the school building and all exterior doors locked.
“Classes are able to continue uninterrupted inside the building,” the district said in a statement.
Later in the afternoon, the district cancelled all after-school activities for their elementary and middle schools.
Asked how parents of children at those schools should respond to Boyd's escape, Law replied: “Just go along your normal day.
“If you see someone who looks suspicious, call 911, and we’ll be there immediately,” he said.
