A DARING ESCAPE

Evening Star, Issue 18336, 25 July 1923, Page 1

A DARING ESCAPE

PROM MOUNT EDEN GAOL. Just after dawn (says the Auckland ‘ Star ’ of last Saturday) Frank Ballar, a young prisoner, dropped down a 50ft wall, and made his escape from Mount Eden Prison, A low-lying cloud of mist hung over the prisoi when Urn getaway was accomplished, at about 6.30 a .in.; and, although the warders were aware of the escape within five minutes, Ballar hud disappeared from view when a party of pursuers readied the top of the Grammar School Hill, to which his footprints led. Somewhere, out there in the frienllj fog, a desperate man was fleeing for dear life. Frustrated, tho pursuers abandoned the search for tho minute, but ero long every police station for miles around was in possession of the escapee’s description. Tho escape was cleverly managed, ami was attended with no small degree of danger to the prisoner, who look a long chance ami risked being seen by two warders residing in houses situated just outside the prison wall. The, spot where Balin' dropped was situated about 25yds 'from the back door of a warder’s house, and had lie attempted the breakaway live minutes earlier he would almcst have fallen it,to tho arms of the official, who left hem.; for duty just before half nasi 6. It was during preparations for tho morning meal that Ballar escaped His work it was to help serve breakfast, ami for this purpose lie was released from his cell and allowed to walk about in the corridors in order to carry food from the kitchen to ihc cells of (he other prisoners. Suddenly he was missed, and the whole prison rang wuh the clangor of u.e aUrm lei I.

Almost immediately a- warder disiovn-ed a pair of knotted blanket sha aging from a high watch lower, on the northern side outlie baildir g. ’ It appears tint _ the prisoner made his way down a corridor Id the stairway at the foot, of the lower, and mounted it Tiro stairway leads upward. At the top the prisoner was stooped bv a lotted trapdoor, but this be forced, and emerged on the platform, which at: one time was used as a watch ’ station bv a patrolling warder. It would be but the work of a minute to fasten tho knotted blankets to the top of the tower and to drop down, hand over hand, to the end of the improvised rope. There •hen remained a fall of seme feet to the crest of the wall near the execution yard, running at right angles to the main wall. An active man could run along this wall, —the top of which is made rough with broken glass —and so roach tbo main wall, Maks 0 o the soft ground tuu.v that Bada- jumped from the mem wal' on the on 1 side, and ran up the hill. Had cither of the warders in the ima'tiy houses seen ihe man when ho was dropping down the side of tiie tower he w.uld not Lave had a chance The prison staff has been, depleted during the last few days, owing 10 influenza, and Ballar took mlvantag; of this to get a wav.

The escaped prisoner is twenty-one years of age. He was sentenced at the Gisborne Supreme Court to throe months hard labor for thefi and three months’ haul labor for escaping from custody, to be followed by >hreo years reformative treatment. Ballar was sentenced on Juno 6, 10%, and bad been in the gaol a little over a 'mon-h. He bad previously served five years in tbs Borstal Institute, Inver-era-gill. „