16-Year-Old Juvenile Escapes Donald E. Long Detention Facility

PORTLAND, OR — Multnomah County officials on Monday announced the escape of a 16-year-old youth from the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Facility over the weekend.

Lodged at the facility on pending theft charges July 5, the unidentified youth reportedly escaped around 8:45 p.m. July 8. County spokeswoman Jessica Morkert-Shibley said the youth is not considered a risk to the public, and for that reason the county's Department of Community Justice will not release the youth's name or any identifying photos.

If the youth is not facing a Measure 11 adult charge and does not pose a risk to the community, Morkert-Shibley explained, it is not within the department's general practice to release juvenile inmate information.

"We are working diligently with our law enforcement partners and family to find the youth," Department of Community Justice Deputy Director Truls Neal said in a statement. "We are conducting a comprehensive review of the incident and our security protocols to determine how the youth was able to leave the facility and changes necessary to prevent this from happening again."

Located at 1401 N.E. 68th Ave., the detention facility has easy access to the Banfield Expressway and Interstate-84. Morkert-Shibley said the juvenile was last seen in an open courtyard area prior to the escape.

Previously, only four escapes had been logged at the facility since it was constructed in 1996, Morkert-Shibley said.

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