TORONTO

Toronto police search for man who escaped psychiatric hospital

Paola Loriggio The Canadian Press
Published Monday, January 27, 2020 3:11PM EST

Tesfaye Asefa is seen in these undated images. (Toronto Police Service)

Text:

TORONTO -- Toronto police are trying to track down a man they say escaped from a psychiatric hospital this morning.

Police say Tesfaye Asefa was last seen just after 10 a.m. today in downtown Toronto.

They say Asefa has been held at a psychiatric facility since he was found not criminally responsible for two counts of sexual assault in 2011.

Police say he should not be approached and anyone who sees him should call 911.

ELOPEE: Tesfaye Asefa, 41, was last seen on Monday, January 27, 2020, at approximately 10:09 a.m., in the Adelaide Street West and Shaw Street area, @TPS14Div. News release: https://t.co/n0rMnK2IsC Info? 416-808-1400 #GO184360 ^CdK pic.twitter.com/aRZ31kADJh
— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) January 27, 2020

Asefa was previously reported missing from the same area in August 2018 and May of last year.

A number of recent incidents involving escaped patients prompted a prominent Toronto psychiatric hospital to review its processes around patient passes last year.