Murderer who escaped from B.C. prison arrested in California after 5 months on the run

A murderer who escaped from a B.C. prison last fall has been arrested in a California hospital, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Roderick Muchikekwanape, 42, was reported missing on the night of Oct. 29 when he was unaccounted for during a routine inmate count at Mission Institution. Not long after, there were reports of a man matching his description at the Sumas border crossing and in Bellingham, Wash.

The marshals service says it recently received tips about Muchikekwanape being spotted in the San Diego area. He was located Friday at UCSD Hillcrest Hospital, where he was arrested.

"It is my sincere hope that the task force apprehending Muchikekwanape brings some sense of relief to the community," U.S. Marshals Chief Richard Craig said in the release.

Muchikekwanape was serving a life sentence for the 1998 sexual assault and murder of Kimberley Clarke, a 36-year-old mother of three. He reached parole eligibility in August and had been "transitioning for release," according to a spokesperson for the prison.

He was being held in the minimum-security area of the prison, which is not fenced. It houses offenders who are deemed the lowest security risk.

Clarke was killed underneath Winnipeg's Redwood Bridge as she was walking home in July 1998. Muchikekwanape has been in custody for her murder since 2000.

Her family, including niece Courtney Bear, testified at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in 2017 about her death.

Following his arrest, Muchikekwanape has been taken into custody and will be held pending his extradition to Canada.