‘We’re all on edge’: Vancouver Island residents react after inmate escape

William Head escape sparks fear, anger and renewed calls for security changes. (Adrian Lam)

Residents in Metchosin and surrounding communities say they are angry, frightened and frustrated after a convicted murderer escaped from William Head Institution, a minimum-security prison located along the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

The inmate, 69-year-old Ernest Jensen, was reported missing over the weekend. He was later found dead in the waters off Metchosin, not far from the institution where he had been serving a life sentence for second-degree murder since 1991.

While police and Correctional Service Canada continue to review what happened, residents say the incident has shaken their sense of safety and raised deeper questions about how the facility operates.

Local anger grows

Amanda Wilmshurst, who owns Matheson Lake Guesthouse, just over eight kilometres away from William Head, said her reaction to the escape was immediate.

“Infuriated. Total anger,” she said.

Wilmshurst pointed to past incidents including the 2019 escape from William Head that ended with the killing of Metchosin resident Martin Payne, saying confidence in the system has eroded in the community.

“Something is going wrong over there. We’re all on edge about it,” she said.

Many residents now feel uneasy living so close to the institution, adding that concerns about safety have intensified since the previous escape.

Wilmshurst also said communication during the most recent incident fell short.

“The only communication was Facebook,” she said.

“There should be some sort of alert like an Amber Alert within the first half hour to an hour. A person can get far in three hours.”

She said residents were left anxious and unsure how serious the situation was in real time.

“It should have been immediate. We were all concerned we were going to get murdered. There should never be anybody that has committed such a heinous crime like murder allowed to reside in a low minimum security jail like that,” said Wilmshurst.

Another local resident, Allegra Poschmann, said the news hit close to home, especially after realizing how close the institution is to her family’s daily life.

“I learned it was about an eight-minute drive from my son’s school and maybe 10 minutes from my house,” she said. “That was disquieting.”

Poschmann said many parents in her community quickly began comparing information and trying to decide whether it was safe to proceed with normal activities, including summer camps.

She said she understands authorities have a role in managing risk, but said the situation still left her uneasy.

“I’m trying to trust local authorities because that’s their job,” she said. “But I was definitely nervous.”

Poschmann also pointed to the geography around nearby schools and camps, noting wooded areas and limited fencing in places.

“It just adds to the concern,” she said.

Why minimum security?

Vancouver-based criminal defence lawyer Kyla Lee says the public reaction is common following escapes from lower security institutions, but the classification process is more complex than many realize.

Lee said inmates can be reclassified over time based on behaviour, programming and risk assessments, even if they were originally convicted of serious violent offences.

“As people spend more time in custody and are not involved in violent incidents, their classification can be downgraded,” she said. “They’ve demonstrated over time that they can exist in the population without causing problems.”

She said minimum-security institutions are part of the rehabilitation process, not just punishment.

“Jail isn’t meant to be purely retribution,” she said. “Rehabilitation is a very important goal of the sentencing process.”

Lee also emphasized that parole eligibility does not mean release is guaranteed.

“Most people convicted of murder who apply for parole are not granted it,” she said. “The Parole Board assesses whether someone has shown insight, remorse and is safe to return to the community.”

Minimum-security facilities, she added, are often designed to gradually prepare inmates for reintegration.

“They allow individuals to demonstrate they are safe to be released back into the community under strict conditions.”

Lee said she expects Correctional Service Canada will still conduct a full review of how the escape occurred, including whether policy or staffing issues played a role.

Questions for corrections

Chris Lewis, CTV public safety analyst and former Ontario Provincial Police commissioner, said the escape raises broader concerns about Canada’s correctional system.

“It’s concerning anytime anyone who is dangerous escapes. From my perspective, if they’re deemed dangerous, why are they in the minimum-security institution? That’s a problem with our correctional system that’s been there forever, and someday they better get a handle on it,”

Lewis said the focus now should be understanding how the escape happened and ensuring there will not be a repeat.

“Number one is an investigation as to how he escaped. Did he have any outside help? Was there any inside help? Was there inside failings of some sort on behalf of the correctional services staff? Maybe not, but they certainly need to look at how and why this occurred and try to check it, so it doesn’t happen again.”

Lewis also urged caution in assuming minimum security escapes are rare anomalies, pointing to past incidents across Canada.

“It hasn’t been that long since we’ve seen cases where people escaped and serious harm followed,” he said.

Investigation continues

Although Jensen has now been found dead, authorities say the investigation is ongoing.

Correctional Service Canada says it will review the circumstances surrounding the escape, while the BC Coroners Service will determine cause of death.

West Shore RCMP said officers responded quickly and deployed significant resources during the search.

For residents in Metchosin, however, the larger questions remain unresolved, how the escape happened and whether it could happen again.