SPOKANE, Wash. – A check of Anthony Garver’s past shows he is familiar with survival skills and is likely to know how to survive in a wooded area for an extended period of time.
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said Garver was found under a pile of debris in a wooded area near his parents residence near East Judkins Road around 8:15 p.m.
Sergeant Jack Rosenthal and Deputy Jason Hunt and his partner K9 Gunnar tracked Garver in the search area. Deputies said Garver was taken into custody without incident.
"He is getting medical attention as he was very dehydrated," he said.
Knezovich would not go into detail about what Garver's eventual plans were because he said Garver still needed to be interviewed. Knezovich said Garver will be taken to Spokane County Jail after he receives treatment.
Garver escaped Western State Hospital on Wednesday night. He caught a Greyhound bus out of Seattle and is believed to have arrived in Spokane early Thursday morning.
He made a stop at his parents’ house north of Spokane Valley, where law enforcement is currently looking for him. The Sheriff said they are searching up to 350 square miles of extremely remote wilderness near Garver’s parents’ house.
In the past, Garver actually hid from law enforcement for about a month in similar terrain.
“How many times are we going to have to recapture this individual? Why is it that he’s always escaping from your custody?” said Sheriff Knezovich.
This is not the first time Garver has been the focus of a manhunt.
When Garver was released from prison in 2009, he failed to check in for a mandatory work-release program launching a search that lasted about a month.
Garver was found hiding in a remote camp near Mt. Spokane.
The Sheriff’s Office described Garver as a survivalist who is anti-government and someone who desires to conduct a mass causality event.
“I take this individual serious, I’ve always taken this individual serious,” said Knezovich. “He is one of those individuals that is very dangerous.
When Garver was arrested in 2006 after threatening to kill his family and others, court documents state Garver had a travel bag containing a fully loaded assault rifle magazine. He also had approximately 100 rounds of live ammunition for an AK-47, several knives and two police scanners. One of which was programmed to the Sheriff’s channel.
At the time, Garver told deputies he did not have an assault rifle but wanted to buy one. Today, the Sheriff’s Office said they never recovered an AK-47, but believe Garver may still have access to it.
“The first time we were out looking for him, we knew he had stashes of gear all over those woods. We’ve never recovered those stashes, we’ve never recovered all those weapons,” said Knezovich.
In 2006, KREM 2 News interviewed a woman who held onto Garver’s belongings while he was in jail. She said she found evidence even then that Garver was working on his survival skills.
The Sheriff’s Office said Garver is very resourceful. They said they are hoping they are not in for an extended search this time around, but are preparing for that responsibility.