Attempted escape puts Grand Valley Institution for Women in lockdown

The Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont., is pictured on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015.

An inmate at Kitchener’s Grand Valley Institution for Women attempted to escape the facility on Wednesday, only to be stopped by a guard.

According to a source who did not want to be identified, the prisoner threw a coat over the razor wire fence and attempted to climb out.

A guard was able to stop the woman, who received minor injuries during the incident, the source said.

Specific details of the event were not confirmed by officials with the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) or the union representing correctional officers at GVI.

What they did say is that there was an escape attempt, which prompted guard to intervene and led to the facility being placed in a lockdown.

“(Once) all inmates were accounted for, the institution returned to normal routine,” CSC spokesperson Kyle Lawlor said, adding that the organization will review the circumstances of the escape.

No prisoners have escaped GVI in its 18-year history.