Last updated on Jan. 25, 7:45 a.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police are looking for a juvenile detainee who escaped from custody while at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. Marshals Service said he may be driving a stolen blue Ford F-150 with a Pennsylvania license plate ZTS-0503.
“He was wearing a dark-colored blue sweatsuit at the time of his escape,” said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore. “He's about 180 pounds, 5-foot-7. He has braids in his hair that are pulled over on both sides.”
He was last seen wearing slides or flip-flops when he escaped.
According to authorities, juvenile justice officers brought 17-year-old Shane Pryor to the hospital for a hand injury just before noon on Wednesday.
Surveillance video shows his escape.
"When staff pulled up into the driveway of Children's Hospital, we know now, through video evidence, as the male was exiting that car, he was able to escape from staff and run from this area on foot," said Vanore.
Officials said he was not handcuffed.
After fleeing officers at CHOP, police say Pryor headed toward the area of University Avenue and Civic Center Boulevard. "He left from this driveway," Vanore told reporters, "and crossed the boulevard and ran [from] building to building, pretty much."
Vanore said police searched parking garages, buildings and surrounding areas.
Pryor has been detained at the Juvenile Justice Services Center since he was 14 years old. "It's a murder charge," Vanore said. "He's been in custody from that point, still awaiting trial."
Pryor’s attorney Paul DiMaio said his client and another teen were charged in a homicide case, in which a woman was killed in October 2020.
“He's always maintained his innocence. I think he's scared. He doesn't know what's going to happen,” DiMaio said. “Getting to know Shane in the past year, he's actually kind of a mild-mannered kid. I don't know why he escaped. I don't know why he walked off.”
Although he was not armed at the time of his escape, police say Pryor is nonetheless considered dangerous. Anyone who sees him is cautioned not to approach him but to call 911 or 215-686-TIPS.
The U.S. Marshals Service is also taking tips at 877-WANTED-2.
“If he's out there and listening, he needs to turn himself in,” DiMaio said. “We can fight this case. I know he's scared, but the best thing he can do … if I was to talk to him, I would tell him, ‘You need to turn yourself in.’”
A judge recently denied Pryor's request to be tried as a juvenile. DiMaio thinks that may be why he fled. Investigators have not determined a reason for his escape.
Stay with KYW Newsradio for more as this story develops.