Spokane K-9 officer sniffs out second hospital escapee

SPOKANE, Wash. — The second of two dangerous Washington state psychiatric hospital escapees was captured Friday night – thanks largely to a Spokane County K-9 officer.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office arrested Anthony Garver, 28, in the 17600 block of East Judkins Road without incident on Friday.

>> Read more about the arrest by following this link.

Garver escaped from Western State Hospital on Wednesday night with Mark Alexander Adams. Adams had been accused of domestic assault in 2014 and was captured Thursday morning.

K-9 officer Gunnar, along with Spokane County Deputy Jason Hunt and Sgt Jack Rosenthal, was searching for Garver Friday in the same area as Thursday night’s search.

According to authorities, K9 Gunnar picked up on a strong track that led to Garver’s hiding spot beneath a debris pile in the woods.

Police said Garver was dehydrated and received medical attention at the scene.

He was then booked into the Spokane County Jail on his fugitive warrant.

"We stuck to our game plan and because of the outstanding work of Sergeant Jack Rosenthal, Deputy Hunt and K-9 Gunnar, a dangerous accused murderer was taken out of our community, thankfully without the loss of another human life,” Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said.

Garver was charged in 2013 with tying a 20-year-old woman to her bed with electrical cords, stabbing her 24 times in the chest and slashing her throat. He was found too mentally ill for trial.

Deputy U.S. marshals told KHQ-TV that Garver showed up at his parents' home in Spokane earlier this week. Garver's mother called 911.

Knezovich described the search as "a pretty intense situation."

Cox Media Group