Police tracking pan-playing escapee

Police have a few tips that may lead to the recapture of Camp Street prisoner Shawn Yhap, a senior police source said yesterday, though no clues have been found indicating the whereabouts of escaped murder accused Trevor Major.

Shawn Yhap
Shawn Yhap

Thirty-two-year-old Yhap who was convicted of stealing a motorcycle, was scheduled for release in November.

He escaped from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri while he and other prisoners were playing steel pan there. He was considered a `trustee’ and was among a group of seven who were taken from the Camp Street penitentiary on Saturday to play the steel pan.

Yhap was discovered missing between 8.15 and 8.30 pm when prison officers were preparing to take the group back to the prison. It is unclear when or how Yhap escaped unseen. Despite searches by prison officials to locate the convict, he was not found and the matter was subsequently handed over to the police.
Meanwhile, the police are still on the hunt for murder accused Major who last week managed to pick the handcuffs he was wearing and successfully exit a “locked and moving”, prison van. At the time of his escape, 20-year-old Major and several others were being transported back to the Camp Street Prison after making appearances at the Providence Magistrate’s Court. The prisoners were being transported by two police officers.

Following the escape, which occurred around 3.30 pm last Wednesday, the two policemen were placed under close arrest.

Despite several searches by police at the homes of his relatives and friends, Major has not been found. Since the escape there has been no sighting of him.