Two more teens escape from behavioral health facility (update: DHEC to investigate)

Image by Flickr user .v1ctor.

Update June 16: Department of Health and Environmental Control inspectors will be investigating the security breach that occurred on June 5th at Summerville's Palmetto Behavioral Health.

DHEC hopes to discover exactly how the incident happened and what preventative measures can be put into place to keep future escapes from happening.

Records indicate that since February 2006, police have been called to the facility a minimum of 129 times.

The Post and Courier has a great report on DHEC's plans; read it here.

First reporting: Less than two months after four teens escaped from Palmetto Behavioral Health's Summerville facility, two more patients have evaded staff and security measure and fled the facility.

The escapees have been identified as 18-year-old Stephon Jordan and a 16-year-old boy. Both were located within two hours of their escape on June 5th and have been returned safely to the facility.

Palmetto Behavioral Health facility has vowed to beef up their security by adding a 12-foot fence, but lawmakers feel that the frequency and ease at which patients are escaping is unacceptable. The Post and Courier has the most thorough reporting on the incident as well as reaction from both the facility's management and lawmakers; read it here.

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