‘It’s just wrong': First responders in Echo Glen escapes ‘frustrated’ with state-run detention facility
Newly obtained surveillance video capturing the May escape of seven inmates from Echo Glen Children’s Center reveals inmates unlocked secure cells with ease.
'No measures were taken to prevent this incident'
King County police officers, who were called upon when seven convicted teenagers escaped from Echo Glen Children’s Center last spring, were fed up with their involvement in repeated security breaches at the state-run youth detention center, police records reveal.
In emails obtained by KING 5 from public records requests to the King County Sheriff’s Office and the Snoqualmie Police Department, members of both agencies candidly lamented about problems with Echo Glen, which is run by the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).
“I continue to be amazed by the lax security of the facility,” wrote Snoqualmie Police Officer James Kaae, who responded to the May 28 escape along with King County deputies. “This place really needs to be treated like a correctional facility instead of a summer camp.”
Multiple deputies, detectives, and their supervisors raised similar concerns about inadequate security measures at the facility and a lack of consequences for the juvenile inmates involved in escapes, documents show. They also griped about the negative impact the repeated incidents were having on their workloads.
“Detectives are frustrated that they are responding to these incidents that shouldn't be happening in the first place, and that…changes to practices and the facility are minimal or non-existent," wrote Blythe Miniken, a sergeant with the King County Sheriff’s Office, in a May 31 email to her colleagues. “We should be focusing on our cases, the victims and their families of the violent crime we work. Instead we redirect our already meager resources to dealing with this…it’s just wrong.”
The conversations occurred as the first responders were preparing an after-action review of their response to an escape earlier this year, in which they identified more than a dozen security shortfalls ranging from broken security cameras and a lack of physical barriers to problematic relationships between youth and staff.
The seven teenagers who escaped May 28 are accused of ambushing a security guard in a “carefully planned attack,” locking her in a cell, and fleeing the facility in the guard’s personal vehicle.
An October KING 5 investigation revealed that DCYF leaders were tipped off about the escape plot days before the group of teens broke out. Yet, administrators left the guard, Megan Krause, working alone – supervising youth with violent criminal backgrounds.
In the agency’s after-action report, the King County Sheriff’s Office called attention to that issue.
“Although police and staff were notified of a breakout being planned…and Staff reports they had made requests for additional staffing, the staffing request was denied, and no measures were taken to prevent this incident,” the report states.
'It's been years of inaction'
The Snoqualmie-based juvenile rehabilitation facility, which is surrounded by wetlands instead of a fence, has grappled with riots and escapes for more than a decade. One of the teenagers accused of escaping from the facility in May pulled off a nearly identical escape in January 2022.
“It’s been years of inaction on the part of Echo Glen, and it appears that will continue,” wrote Chief Shawn Ledford, a member of the King County Sheriff’s Office command staff who oversees the criminal investigations division, in a May 31 email.
On Nov. 26, six months after the seven teens escaped, law enforcement responded to another escape call at Echo Glen Children's Center. In that incident, according to police records, three teenage males fled the facility on foot while taking out the trash. Two of the inmates were previously convicted of murder.
Jason Wettstein, spokesperson for DCYF, said the inmates in the recent incident were quickly caught and never made it off the property. Two youth were arrested near a facility maintenance yard and a third was caught behind the campus sewage plant.
Wettstein characterized the incident as an escape “attempt” that was successfully stopped. He credited the success to security changes at the facility that followed the high-profile May escape.
“We added contracted security staffing, initiated additional training and drills for staff, implemented a code system for radio communication,” he wrote in a statement. “These factors, addressed prior to the recent escape attempt on Nov. 26, along with an immediate call to law enforcement as the situation emerged, helped ensure quick apprehension of the youth and thwarted their escape attempt.”
Wettstein said DCYF has made other improvements since the May escape, including removing personal vehicles from campus and requiring staff to lock up personal items; working to increase staffing levels and reduce mandatory overtime; and beginning work on a multi-million dollar fence around the property that is expected to be completed in July 2025.
“Because portions of the property are adjacent to wetlands and the fence is high security and specialized, permitting and construction is a more complex process than most other types of fencing,” he wrote. “We have selected a consultant and are currently in the design phase with permitting expected to be issued shortly after the new year.”
'The inmates manipulated the staff'
A KING 5 review of newly obtained surveillance video from inside Echo Glen Children's Center on the night of the May escape reveals the youth gained complete control of the guard and the facility with ease.
Krause, 36, was badly bruised and suffered a concussion during the event, telling police that two of the teens punched her in the head and face around 40 times while others worked to steal her belongings and help other youth break out.
Surveillance video shows one of her attackers used an unsecured staff computer to unlock inmates' cells, releasing five of the seven boys who fled the facility from their rooms – with just the touch of a screen. Another teen also used the computer during the incident.
A King County deputy who observed their actions on camera commented in the after-action review that the behavior was alarming.
“Two different inmates used the control computer to open the inmates’ cells and were able to do so in seconds, demonstrating that they had learned how to use the system by watching staff or just using it themselves without staff knowing,” wrote King County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Paul. “The computer needs to be behind a secured door and require staff login or keycard access.”
Wettstein, the DCYF spokesperson, acknowledged that the computer was “a vulnerability” during the May escape. He said DCYF has since “increased security measures” with the computers, but declined to comment on specifics, citing security concerns.
Paul, along with others who were involved in the police response, raised additional concerns about behaviors observed on camera in the hours before the escape. They noted Echo Glen staff are “inappropriately comfortable” with inmates.
In the after-action report, Paul explained that the video shows “staff hugging inmates, allowing them access to the staff telephone, allowing inmates to chase each other and wrestle without interruption, allowing inmates to use spray bottles like they were pretend guns and point them at staff members heads."
“This, in my opinion, is why the escape was successful,” the deputy wrote. “The inmates manipulated the staff in order to set-up the escape plan.”
In an email exchange between law enforcement, a King County detective described his shock when he learned of the actions documented on surveillance video.
“I can’t believe that Echo Glen allows the behaviors…" wrote Detective John Hawkins. “Hugging inmates good night? Windex bottles being held like pistols? Zero control of their own facility or equipment?...I can't imagine that being the norm for juvenile centers in the Western states. If it isn’t the norm, it takes zero money from their budget to keep that in line.”
Wettstein said the child welfare agency met with law enforcement and community leaders in the spring, and they continue to “collaborate.”
He added that the department reviewed police recommendations after the May escape.
“We had been implementing changes based on our own initiative prior to the recommendations, and also in response to security audits and drawing upon the expertise in corrections of those now in charge of safety/security in Juvenile Rehabilitation,” he wrote. “Our door is open to continued partnership with local law enforcement and the community.”
The King County Sheriff’s Office declined an interview request to discuss concerns raised by members of the agency.
Sgt. Eric White, public information officer, responded to the KING 5 inquiry in a statement that said the agency has a “strong partnership” with DCYF, and it will “continue to collaborate with them in the future.”
He highlighted that DCYF made some progress with implementing changes, and he noted that the sheriff’s office will continue to respond to calls for service at Echo Glen when called.