What to Know
- Authorities say all nine juveniles who escaped from a detention center in eastern Pennsylvania have been caught.
- The juveniles had escaped from Abraxas Academy in Morgantown, Berks County, around 8 p.m. on Sunday after overwhelming guards and stealing keys, Pennsylvania State Police said.
- Schools in the Twin Valley School District were closed on Sept. 18, 2023, amid the manhunt.
Another eastern Pennsylvania community was on edge for hours and schools were closed after an escape, this time from a juvenile detention center.
However, this time the search only lasted several hours.
The search for nine teens who escaped from the Abraxas Academy in Berks County Sunday night ended Monday morning with all of the escaped boys back in custody after spending hours in the cold as rain fell in the woods.
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The escape happened around 8 p.m. during an incident at the detention center at 1000 Academy Drive in Morgantown, which is south of Reading, Caernarvon Township police said in an online crime alert.
"They just had a breach of the property, there should be about 10 kids that are running toward Route 10," a dispatcher said in audio obtained by NBC10. "Use caution when you are approaching and get there."
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How did the manhunt come to an end?
Around 5:45 a.m. Monday, police had four of the teens back in custody, Pennsylvania State Trooper David Boehm -- the public information officer for Troop L in Reading -- said. They were found along Oak Grove Road.
Those four boys "banged on the door" of a home to surrender.
"They were done, they were tired, they were cold," Boehm said in a meeting with the press shortly after the teens were recaptured.
Then around 6:35 a.m., police responded to a report of a stolen pickup truck and trailer at another spot on Oak Grove Road, Beohm said.
Police then got into a pursuit with the pickup truck before pulling it over along Furnace Road, Boehm said.
Police captured four of the boys in the truck, while the fifth boy tried to run, but was captured a short time later, police said.
Some of the boys were "dirty looking" after being out in the woods all night, Beohm said.
They were found about 4 miles, or so, from Abraxas.
"They are all going to be charged with escape," Beohm said.
The boys in the truck will also likely be charged with theft, Beohm said.
“We're going to interview all nine of them,” Beohm said. “I know there's stuff in the works right now to decide where they are going to go after that takes place.”
Schools close amid search
Schools in the Twin Valley School District were closed amid the manhunt:
"Given the ongoing situation with Abraxas Academy, the District will be closing all schools and offices today, September 18th, out of an abundance of caution," the district initially said on its website.
Even after the captures, school would remain closed Monday, but the district board meeting would take place.
"Now that all prisoners are in custody, we have decided to keep the Board Meeting scheduled for this evening as planned, which is different from what our early morning message indicated," Twin Valley School District Superintendent Dr. Patrick Winters wrote. "However, other after school and evening activities will remain cancelled as the original message conveyed."
"We appreciate and recognize that families may have needed to adjust schedules and plans in light of this morning’s decision, and we want to be sensitive to the needs of all our students and possible challenges in getting to and/or from after school and evening activities," Winters wrote.
How did the boys escape?
Authorities said the facility houses teens with a history of criminal and delinquent behavior.
Troopers were called to Abraxas to help "quell the uprising and help get the kids back into their rooms," Beohm said.
State police then learned of how the kids got out.
"These nine kids all kind of banded together, they overtook two female staff to get the keys so they could get out of the door," Beohm said.
The boys then made their way into the yard and then they got out through "a weak point in the fencing," Beohm said.
One of the staffers suffered a hand injury from trying to grip the keys, but is expected to be OK, he noted.
All of the escapees were between 15 and 17 years old, Beohm told reporters.
One boy was being held on robbery, another on car theft and several others on disturbances at other facilities. Seven of the boys are from the Harrisburg area, so they were unfamiliar with the Morgantown area.
“It probably was planned, but poorly planned,” Beohm said.
The escapees would "be easy to see," Beohm said. Shortly after the escape, he said on Twitter that the juveniles were wearing gray pants or shorts and a gray shirt. The boys were also wearing black slide shoes.
Police set up a perimeter in an attempt to contain the escapees, investigators said. The perimeter was between Interstates 176 and 76 and Route 10. Rainy weather hindered police from putting up a chopper to search for the boys.
Several hours later -- in the early hours of Monday -- police got called to Estate Drive, which is about five miles north of Abraxas, that people heard a commotion outside and saw several people breaking the window of their car.
Another search in eastern Pennsylvania
This escape came just days after the two-week manhunt for Danilo Cavalcante came to an end in neighboring Chester County.
People in Berks County were urged to remain on alert while the boys were on the run.
"Lock everything up, take your keys out of your car, be vigilant," Beohm said. He urged anyone who saw anything strange to call 911 without delay.
What is the mission of Abraxas Academy?
"Abraxas is a national leader in providing residential, community based and in home services for youth, adults and families," Abraxas says on its website.
"Treatment at the Academy is for youth who demonstrate a consistent display of delinquent patterns through multiple placements, serious charges, and problematic behaviors," Abraxas says of the Berks County facility. "Youth are admitted to the Academy for either habitual offending behaviors or for a history of sexual offending behavior."
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