Police are scouring the city after a prisoner being treated at a Manhattan hospital made a death-defying escape on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
According to police sources, 44-year-old Yenchun Chen was in the Department of Correction custody inside the fifth floor of Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital — located at 281 1st Ave. in Gramercy — when he decided to make a run for it just before 4:36 p.m. on Aug. 9.
Using a cliched trick straight out of a movie, police said, Chen allegedly knotted bedsheets, clothing, and other material together to make a rope, which he then used to lower himself out of a fifth-floor window. He then descended down the makeshift rope to the second floor, where he landed on an air conditioning unit.
From there, law enforcement sources said, the suspect used a nearby ladder to get himself to the street level — where he hailed a yellow cab that headed downtown.
All told, police said, the entire escape took about six minutes.
According to law enforcement sources, Chen had been hospitalized at Beth Israel for several days for reasons that were not disclosed. He had been arrested last month on drug charges.
Police described Chen as standing 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing 250 pounds with tattoos on his left arm and hand. He was last seen wearing a white shirt and beige pants.
The NYPD advised New Yorkers not to directly confront Chen if they see him, but rather to notify police immediately.
Anyone with information regarding Chen’s whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
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