Sex offender who went missing from mental institution found on Capitol Hill

A level-three sex offender who went missing from a mental institution is back in jail after a Seattle police officer caught him wandering Capitol Hill.

Seattle Police Detective Drew Fowler says an officer believed he’d seen the offender previously in the area.

“This morning, one of the officers came into roll call at 3 a.m. and said, ‘Hey, I think someone I saw in a bulletin has been roaming around on Broadway. I think I recognize him. Let’s see if we can maybe go out and find him.'”

Fowler says the patrol officer located level-three sex offender Eric Wyatt and took him back into custody Tuesday morning. Wyatt was reportedly off his medication and is considered at high risk to re-offend.

Detective Fowler commended the officer on recognizing Wyatt from the bulletin.

“We are flooded with bulletins, as many as 20 a day, and to be able to see a face and recognize a face and then match it and put it together, it just takes good work and a keen eye.”

So far, they haven’t had any reports of crimes connected to Wyatt while he was on the lam.