Escaped criminals back at mental clinic

Two violent criminals who escaped from Säter psychiatric clinic in central Sweden on Monday returned to the facility voluntarily on Tuesday morning, Sveriges Radio reports.

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"I think that they came in on their own accord. I don't know exactly what happened but it was said to be very undramatic," said Dalarna police spokesperson Bo Eriksson to the TT news agency.

The escapees returned around 8am on Tuesday morning but officials still don't have any explanation as to why the two ran in the first place.

A nationwide alert was issued on Monday evening after officials realized that the two men had escaped.

Säter’s lead doctor Susanne Nyberg says that the men were free to move about the hospital following a lengthy period of treatment. Both had been thought to be getting better, and Nyberg didn’t feel that a relapse was likely for either escapee.

“There isn’t a direct danger for anyone,” she said.

She added that the two patients had been allowed unrestricted movement for several months without incident.

One of the patients, born in 1977, was convicted of murder. The other, born in 1981, was convicted for other violent crimes.

They were both serving time in Säter for psychiatric care with special probationary release conditions.

The men had clearance to move freely about the hospital and disappeared sometime between 8am and 2:30pm on Monday.

Because both escapees have been convicted of violent offences, it is difficult to judge exactly how much a danger either of them poses to the public.

It was on Wednesday of last week that police arrested a 35-year-old convicted murder following a three day flight from Säter, together with a 37-year-old friend, who had been on the run for about a month.

Nyberg isn’t ruling out the possibility that the 35-year-old’s escapade may have affected the newly escaped patients.

“One can imagine that when someone has been outside and tasted freedom that other are also tempted,” she said.