Two Escapes From Prison

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 44, 22 February 1938, Page 7

Two Escapes From Prison

Daring Incident Near Te Awamutu BOTH STILL AT LIBERTY Per Press Association.' ’ AUCKLAND, Last Night. In a desperate attempt to regain their freedom two prisoners have made a daring escape from Waikeria prison camp, near Te Awamutu. One made his dash for freedom just before 8 o’clock on Sunday night and the other at 3 o’clock this afternoon. Both men had been at the camp only for just over a week and were sentenced during the recent Supreme Court session at Auckland. The district is being scoured by a large party of warders and police, but neither man had been recaptured to-night. The men are: Richard Jackson Ruff Moyle, aged 27, and Moses Tito, a Maori, labourer, aged 20. Moyle was attending a number of horses in a paddock near No. 2 camp, about a mile from the main prison camp, on Sunday evening. He had been paroled to feed the animals and then to return to camp shortly before 8 o’clock. His absence was noticed by a warder and an immediate search was organised, but without success. A particularly daring escape right in view of a warder and the remainder of a gang engaged in cleaning drains on the farm near the residence of the superintendent was made by Tito. He asked permission to secure a drink of water and a few seconds later was seen by the warder to dive into an old, disused tunnel almost obscured by overgrowing weeds. The warder immediately sounded the alarm, but he had to line up the other prisoners and make sure of their safe custody before he could make an attempt to follow the Maori. A search party quickly began operations in the vicinity of the tunnel, but the prisoner must have made a quick break into the dense bush beyond, and no trace of him was found.