Inmate awaiting surgery escapes Miami hospital dressed as barefoot janitor. He didn’t get far

Charles Rabin

An inmate who escaped during a stopover at Jackson Memorial Hospital had a brief fling with freedom Friday, when he climbed through some ceiling panels, somehow found a janitor’s uniform and walked out of the hospital — without shoes.

He was captured a few miles away shortly after police were notified that barefoot person in a janitor’s uniform was seen leaving the hospital. He had not yet acquired shoes when officers took him into custody.

Not a lot of details were immediately clear late Friday afternoon after the man’s brief dash for freedom. He was found near the intersection of Northwest 38th Street and 10th Avenue. Police aren’t sure how he got there.

But according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of the incident, the man, who hasn’t been named, was arrested a day or too earlier on narcotics charges. He was also wanted for a probation violation. He was taken to Jackson when paramedics determined his blood pressure was too high.

The source said the man was getting ready for some unstated type of surgery when doctors told him to go clean up in the bathroom. That’s where he climbed through the ceiling tiles and came out somewhere else in the hospital.

This breaking news story and will be updated.

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