Man who escaped Oregon mental health hospital while shackled found stuck in muddy pond

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man charged with attempted murder who escaped from a psychiatric hospital in Oregon while fully shackled was arrested Friday after he was found floundering in a muddy pond.

Christopher Pray was found buried up to the armpits in the pond in Portland, the Oregon State Police said. Portland Fire & Rescue personnel extricated the man using ropes and he was taken to the hospital. Police said he gave a false name, but a hospital employee recognized Pray and police were called.

The Oregon State Police are investigating how Pray managed to escape on Wednesday as he was being taken to the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. Restrained with leg shackles, a belly chain and handcuffs, Pray slid into the driver’s seat of a van he was being transported in when the driver was outside the vehicle and drove away.

Pray faces charges including attempted murder, robbery, assault and felon in possession of a firearm in Multnomah County Circuit Court, where Portland is located. He was sent on Wednesday to the Oregon State Hospital after he was found unfit to proceed with trial, according to court records.

A message left with his lawyer seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned.