Missing Dangerous Patient Found By Police
Posted April 19, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A mentally ill man who sexually assaulted two young girls several years ago and was missing for the past two days was found on Thursday after a woman on her lunch break recognized him and called police.
He was apprehended near the Eaton Centre.
“It was a citizen who was able to see what we hoped they would see, which was his picture and description. Somebody did the right thing,” said Insp. Elizabeth Byrnes.
Police were forced to issue a public safety alert after the patient at Whitby Mental Health Centre went missing following an outing in Toronto on Tuesday night.
Mylvaganam Vaasuhan was one of about a dozen patients under supervision at a Blue Jays game when he simply wandered away.
The 31-year-old schizophrenic was found not criminally liable for sexually assaulting two young girls in 2001.
He was considered such a danger to the community – and especially children – that he’d been detained for years in the Whitby facility.
At least five supervisors were with him at the time of his escape, and it’s not clear how they lost track of him.
“We understand the concern of the community and want to assure the community that we remain committed to the safety of our patients, staff and community,” said Sheila Newburger, Whitby Mental Health Centre.
Police say there are no reports that he reoffended while he was missing.
