Firefighters in Oregon staged a dramatic rescue of a man who had apparently tried to swim across a mud pit, only to find himself trapped 75 feet from solid ground, stuck up to his armpits.
And the man’s shock at getting stuck wasn’t the only surprise of the day. Portland Fire & Rescue took him to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, where a hospital worker recognized him as Christopher Lee Pray, an “extremely dangerous man” who escaped from custody at a psychiatric hospital in Salem Wednesday night, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Crews have rope secured to victim and are making good progress slowly pulling them to solid ground now.
— Portland Fire & Rescue (@PDXFire) September 1, 2023
Pray had been arrested on several charges, including an aggravated murder charge from a 2022 attack. On Wednesday, police took him to Oregon State Hospital in Salem for an evaluation after he was deemed unable to participate in his own defense. While there, he got into “an altercation with another patient,” hospital spokesperson Amber Shoebridge said, and was taken in a hospital van to a local emergency room.
On the way back to Oregon State Hospital just before 11 p.m., the driver stopped the vehicle at the entrance to the hospital and got out to help Pray — fully restrained in leg shackles, belly chain, and handcuffs — out. Instead, Shoebridge said, Pray “was able to gain control of the van and drive away.”
Police pursued Pray in the van for a short period but stopped because of safety concerns.
— Portland Fire & Rescue (@PDXFire) September 1, 2023
Portland Fire & Rescue live-tweeted Pray’s hour-long rescue from a murky and muddy pond near Heron Lakes Golf Course in North Portland. Firefighters sent the ladder from a ladder truck out over the pond, where rescuers dropped ropes down to the stranded man below and then slowly dragged him back to shore.
They said he’d been in the mud for 12 hours.
He gave a fake name at the hospital but one of the employees recognized him from photos put out by state police on Thursday after his escape. The hospital notified Portland Police, who responded and confirmed Pray’s identity.
Pray, a convicted felon, was charged with using a gun to rob a woman and then nearly killing her on March 12, 2022. He faces additional charges from a June 4, 2022 incident, in which he is accused of assaulting his domestic partner and driving recklessly.
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[Featured image: Portland Fire & Rescue]
