Correctional Service Canada (CSC) says an inmate who was declared missing from a seaside minimum-security prison on Vancouver Island is dead.
Ernest Jensen, 69, was found dead in the water near the shore of William Head Institution in Metchosin, B.C., on Monday. He had been serving a life sentence for second-degree murder since March 1991, along with sentences for trespassing and breaking and entering.
Mayor Marie-Térèse Little said RCMP informed her around 1 p.m. PT Monday that Jensen’s body was discovered on prison grounds on part of the shoreline that was revealed during low tide.
“So he wasn’t really at large, he was still along the premises of the William Head Institution, but certainly gave the community quite a fright,” said Little, who went door to door in the village centre to inform residents of Jensen’s disappearance on Sunday.
“It’s been a harrowing 26 hours.”
Prison staff first noticed Jensen was missing on Sunday when he was unaccounted for during the midday count.
West Shore RCMP Cpl. Nancy Saggar said they issued an arrest warrant for Jensen and sent officers to the scene.
“We set up a containment area, we had our police dog come out, we were flying our drones,” she said, adding that air and marine units also searched the area.
The incident prompted questions and concerns from community members about the security of William Head Institution.
James Lee Busch and Zachary Armitage fled the facility in 2019 by walking around a fence at low tide.
While at large, they killed 60-year-old Martin Payne and were later convicted of first-degree murder.
Search underway for convicted killer believed to have escaped from Vancouver Island prison
Some residents, including Sc’ianew (Beecher Bay) First Nation Chief Coun. Russ Chipps, have called for the minimum-security institution to be shut down.
Chipps believes the land should be returned to his nation, saying it could be used to provide housing and other resources for his members. He’s critical of the prison’s “Club Fed” reputation for amenities like condos, gardens, a theatre program and workshops.
“It’s just not a safe place,” he said.
“That’s something our people could use as a village.”
Correctional Service Canada spokesperson Lucinda Fraser said Monday that the institution implemented several security measures in the wake of the 2019 escape.
It enhanced training measures for reviewing video footage to better identify times and locations of potential escapes, added an extra head count and introduced a review process for potential higher-security transfers when staff report concerns with inmates.
It also instituted a policy to notify the public within three hours of a confirmed escape.
Little said that while she believes the Neighbourhood Emergency Procedures Program was effective in informing the public, more work needs to be done to improve co-ordination.
“I think we need to have some updates on our communication plan,” she said.
She offered condolences to Jensen’s family, prison staff and others affected by his death.
Correctional Service Canada said his family and any registered victims have been notified. There will be a review of his death, it said, and the cause will be determined by the B.C. Coroners Service.
