‘Extremely dangerous’ fugitive foiled by Portland mud pit

Firefighters came across an unlikely find Friday morning when they responded to a call of a possibly dead person in North Portland. What they found without realizing it was a very much alive, wanted fugitive who escaped the Oregon State Hospital on Wednesday.

Oregon State Police confirmed that Christopher Lee Pray, 39, was back in police custody after firefighters pulled him from a mud pit near the Heron Lakes Golf Course that he had appeared to try swimming across.

The firefighters used a rope and ladder over the course of an hour to free Pray from the mud, which had consumed him up to his armpits.

Portland Fire & Rescue, unaware of who they were saving, commented live on the rescue on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.