Brookie
01-25-2004, 05:00 AM
Just ran across this article and thought I'd post it for all who are following this. Sure do hope this is resolved soon! :(
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-prison-hostages,0,3237076.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
Female Guard Remains Arizona Prison Hostage
By LYNN DUCEY
Associated Press Writer
January 25, 2004, 5:37 AM EST
BUCKEYE, Ariz. -- A female correctional officer remains as the sole hostage in a prison watch tower after her two captors released the other guard they had held for nearly a week.
The freed hostage, a man who was not immediately identified, was allowed to climb down a ladder to safety Saturday, said Cam Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.
His release came after negotiators delivered an item demanded by the inmates, Hunter said. A second item was delivered as part of the exchange agreement after the hostage was let go.
She did not reveal what the inmates were given.
Negotiators were still working for the freedom of the woman, believed by corrections officials to be unharmed.
"The safe return of one corrections officer is very encouraging...," Gov. Janet Napolitano said in a statement. "But this is not over. There is another officer being held, and this remains a delicate and dangerous situation."
Napolitano and corrections Director Dora Schriro met with the officer and his family at the Phoenix hospital where he was taken, said Patrick Gibbons, a spokesman for the corrections department.
Gibbons said the officer was doing fine given what he had been through. The officer was being kept at the hospital overnight, but Gibbons wouldn't elaborate on why.
Hunter said authorities were encouraged that the officer was able to climb down the ladder.
Fellow correctional officers were heartened by the release.
"The negotiators are doing a fine job. This is a good sign that they were able to come to some kind of agreement," said Joe Masella, president of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers' Association.
The release occurred after an inmate, wearing a guard's uniform jacket, lowered a bucket over the side of the three-story tower and then pulled it back up.
A ladder was placed against the side of the tower; a short time later, an officer was seen putting on a backpack and climbing down the ladder as the inmate held it the top of the ladder.
Once the guard was on the ground, the inmate shoved the ladder away from the tower. Authorities think the tower is stockpiled with weapons.
The inmates took the guards hostage early Jan. 18 in the tower at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis, in Buckeye west of Phoenix.
At least one inmate overcame two guards and a worker in the kitchen during breakfast preparation that day before making his way with another inmate to the tower at the edge of a prison yard.
Authorities have not discussed the inmates' possible motive and have not released any details on their identities or previous crimes. They've also declined to say how the inmates got into the tower.
Until the crisis is resolved, the other 4,400 inmates at the medium- to high-security facility are in lockdown.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-prison-hostages,0,3237076.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
Female Guard Remains Arizona Prison Hostage
By LYNN DUCEY
Associated Press Writer
January 25, 2004, 5:37 AM EST
BUCKEYE, Ariz. -- A female correctional officer remains as the sole hostage in a prison watch tower after her two captors released the other guard they had held for nearly a week.
The freed hostage, a man who was not immediately identified, was allowed to climb down a ladder to safety Saturday, said Cam Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.
His release came after negotiators delivered an item demanded by the inmates, Hunter said. A second item was delivered as part of the exchange agreement after the hostage was let go.
She did not reveal what the inmates were given.
Negotiators were still working for the freedom of the woman, believed by corrections officials to be unharmed.
"The safe return of one corrections officer is very encouraging...," Gov. Janet Napolitano said in a statement. "But this is not over. There is another officer being held, and this remains a delicate and dangerous situation."
Napolitano and corrections Director Dora Schriro met with the officer and his family at the Phoenix hospital where he was taken, said Patrick Gibbons, a spokesman for the corrections department.
Gibbons said the officer was doing fine given what he had been through. The officer was being kept at the hospital overnight, but Gibbons wouldn't elaborate on why.
Hunter said authorities were encouraged that the officer was able to climb down the ladder.
Fellow correctional officers were heartened by the release.
"The negotiators are doing a fine job. This is a good sign that they were able to come to some kind of agreement," said Joe Masella, president of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers' Association.
The release occurred after an inmate, wearing a guard's uniform jacket, lowered a bucket over the side of the three-story tower and then pulled it back up.
A ladder was placed against the side of the tower; a short time later, an officer was seen putting on a backpack and climbing down the ladder as the inmate held it the top of the ladder.
Once the guard was on the ground, the inmate shoved the ladder away from the tower. Authorities think the tower is stockpiled with weapons.
The inmates took the guards hostage early Jan. 18 in the tower at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis, in Buckeye west of Phoenix.
At least one inmate overcame two guards and a worker in the kitchen during breakfast preparation that day before making his way with another inmate to the tower at the edge of a prison yard.
Authorities have not discussed the inmates' possible motive and have not released any details on their identities or previous crimes. They've also declined to say how the inmates got into the tower.
Until the crisis is resolved, the other 4,400 inmates at the medium- to high-security facility are in lockdown.