Woman charged with helping Larned patient escape

LARNED, Kan. (AP) — A Ulysses woman is charged with helping a man escape from the Larned State Hospital this week. The Pawnee County Attorney’s Office says 38-year-old Emilia Melinda Brown is charged with aiding escape. Investigators allege Brown drove 43-year-old Isaac Watts away from the Larned campus after he escaped Monday night. Watts and Brown were arrested Tuesday morning at a Garden City hotel. Watts is jailed in Finney County pending any possible charges for the escape. Authorities have not said how he got out of the state hospital. He was the second patient to escape from Larned since June, and state officials are looking for a firm to review security procedures there.