ESCAPES FROM CUSTODY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 236, 2 October 1908, Page 5

ESCAPES FROM CUSTODY.

EN ROUTE TO WAIOTAPTJ. By the Takapuna there arrived at Onehunga this morning a batch of seven good conduct prisoners en route for Walotapu Camp, two warders being in charge. And among the batch was one John Bishop, a fireman by occupation, who for theft was sentenced to two years' imprisonment a month or more back in Wellington. When the warders were marshalling their charges to proceed ashorp, Bishop was missing, and, although a' hasty search was prosecuted, he remained missing up to the time the remainder of the party boarded the train to connect, with the Rotorua express at Penrose, ieaving one of the warders behind to prosecute the hunt for Bishop, in company with the local police. The existing Government regulations respecting the transference of prisoners make it somewhat difficult to get on to the trail of an escapee, as both warders and prisoners are in plain clothes, so that oncfi a man can avoid the eye of his escort, he may mingle with the thick of unsusfpecting citizens, and vanish, as one of the crowd. In the present case, however, the prisoner was missed in euch time that it was considered almost impossible he could have made good his escape ashore, and the opinion of his escort was that he, being a fireman, and acquainted as such with likely fiidingplaces in a ship, had secreted himself aboard in the hope of lying perdu until the hue and cry had "drifted further aSeld. A vigorous search was prosecuted during the morning by Warder Brophy, who was in charge of Bishop from New P'ymouth, assisted by Sergeant Rogers, of Onehun<ra, Constable Smith, and Detectives Hollis and Scott, the vessel being hunted high and low, but no trace was fcund of the missing manIt is suggested, in view of his covery. that Bishop may have availed h?mself of an opportunity to slip overboard while the vessel was passing one of the numerous paints on the way up the Manukau. Once overboard unobserved, a good swimmer would have a reasonable chance of reaching shore, although the Manukau currents are 01 a uescripnoii to daunt one acquainted with them. The escaped prisoner is a man of 31 years of age, sft 6Jin in height, clean shaven, with fair complexion. He has grey eyes, and hair of a light brown auburn tint, while his features have nothing otherwise particularly distinsruishing about them. When he left New Plymouth he was dressed in a brown sweater and cap, and , a blue suit of clothes. Bishop is a Londoner by birth, a fireman by occupation, and was serving 2 years for theft. '