A convicted killer who escaped from Mission Institution on Saturday was arrested in Saanich early Tuesday morning.
Michael Douglas Sheets, who also escaped from William Head Institution in 2015, was found hiding in an out building in the 5800-block of Old East Road and was arrested by Saanich police and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team at 5:20 a.m.
Saanich police had received information on Monday that Sheets was in Saanich.
Sheets is serving a 14-year sentence for manslaughter, arson, escape and other offences. In 2004, he was hired to throw a Molotov cocktail into a Calgary home, which sparked a fire that killed a pair of young siblings, age six and four. Their mother was able to escape.
Charlie Wainman lives in the basement suite of the 17-acre farm where Sheets was found hiding in one of the many out buildings on the property.
Wainman woke up when he heard vehicles driving on the property. He could see the silhouette of a police officer with a flashlight outside his bedroom window.
Then he heard an officer on a loudspeaker say “John, we see you. You’re under arrest.”
Sheets also goes by John.
Wainman didn’t see Sheets hauled away in handcuffs but said the whole ordeal was over in 15 minutes.
Wainman, who uses a wheelchair, said he sleeps with his door unlocked and is shaken to learn a fugitive was on the property, particularly given Sheets’ violent crimes.
“You’ve got a fugitive skulking around and he’s pretty desperate,” he said. “I feel vulnerable but you also know the police were on it. They had the place surrounded.”
The property is dotted with several buildings and disused horse stables but Wainman said police seemed to know exactly where Sheets was hiding.
“They knew exactly where he went. So somehow they were able to track him down.”
Saanich police spokesman Sgt. Jereme Leslie said police used “investigative techniques” to track down Sheets.
Correctional officers discovered Sheets was missing Saturday evening during a head count in the minimum security unit at Mission Institution.
Sheets will be transferred into the custody of the Correctional Service of Canada.
Rhonda Cochrane, assistant warden of management services for Mission Institution, said an investigation is underway to determine how Sheets escaped.
Sheets will not be returned to the minimum security unit, Cochrane said.
“A brand new risk assessment will be conducted to determine his place in the appropriate security level from that moment on,” she said.
In February 2015, Sheets was serving his sentence at the minimum security William Head Institution and escaped during an escorted absence in downtown Victoria. He was found the next day hiding out at a residence on Jubilee Avenue.
Cochrane said two escapes is a “huge red flag” and both will be considered during a risk assessment.
