Fiona Govan
RESIDENTS of a town in Galicia in northwestern Spain have joined Guardia Civil patrols in an attempt to seek out an escaped prisoner who is living in the woods.
Convicted murderer Alfredo Sanchez Chacon, 63, has been dubbed the Galician Rambo for survival techniques he learned while serving in the Spanish Legion after it emerged he had been living wild in the woods for more than nine months.
It is the second time that Chacon had escaped from prison. The first time was back in 1999 when he escaped from Pontevedra prison reportedly by climbing out of a window using tied together sheets. He was on the run for two years before he was caught and returned to jailed.
This time he eluded authorities when he failed to return to the prison after a day release permit issued last March. He was due to be released in 2025 after serving a 17 year sentence for murdering Manuel García Varela in 2002.
Last week a man who fitted his description was spotted by a dog walker in a makeshift camp in woods within the Parc de las Fragas. The dog walker immediately called police but by the time they got to the camp it was empty.
Residents in the town of Pontedeume have for months been reporting sightings of the fugitive as well as the theft of supplies and food from their homes.
One neighbour told police they found a man fitting the description of the fugitive standing at their open fridge helping himself to leftovers in the middle of the night.
At least 14 petty thefts of items ranging from packets of biscuits to tins of beans and cans of beer have been reported.
Now villagers have rounded up their own patrols to take it in turns to guard the area and look out for the escaped prisoner.
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