Authorities were still searching for four teenagers who escaped from Echo Glen Children's Center in Snoqualmie on Sunday after allegedly assaulting a staff member and stealing a vehicle, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.
Seven children escaped shortly after midnight, and three were apprehended in Burien Sunday afternoon.
The children, between 15 and 17 years old, are in custody on various charges, including murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault and robbery.
The children assaulted a staff member working the night shift during routine checks and stole her car keys, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families. The staff member's stolen vehicle was recovered Sunday evening.
The campus was secured and all other incarcerated children were accounted for, the release said.
A juvenile rehabilitation critical incident response team, composed of people from outside facility management, will conduct a review, the release said.
In addition, according to DCYF, Echo Glen has enhanced its safety protocols and will look for any needed changes in response to the escape.
Anyone with information about the four children's location is asked to call 911 or the Sheriff's Office nonemergency number, 206-296-3311.
Five children escaped from the facility in January 2022 after assaulting staff members and stealing a state-owned vehicle. Authorities did not apprehend all five teenagers until March of that year.
One of the juveniles who escaped on Sunday was part of that January 2022 group.
Afterward, the detention center tightened security, though another incarcerated child escaped in April 2022 and was taken back into custody shortly after.
The facility received $8 million in state funding this year to support security upgrades, including a perimeter fence.
