Prisoner Escapes Police Custody, Bolts From Hospital In Greenwich Village

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man escaped police custody while under police guard in a hospital in Greenwich Village Thursday, police said.

Daniel Ortiz, 31, was at Northwell Health Lenox Hill Healthplex, at Seventh Avenue and 12th Street, and was supposed to be under police guard, police said.

The man slipped out of an exam room and was believed to have escaped the hospital around 3:30 p.m., sources said. He was wearing one leg shackle, police said.

Ortiz had been arrested on suspicion of petit larceny for allegedly stealing from the Macy's in Herald Square, and was taken to the hospital for an unknown reason to see a doctor, sources said.

As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, detectives brought in dogs to track the scent of Ortiz's clothing from a white plastic hospital bag, and tracked him to an apartment building up the block and around the corner into the basement. But he was not there.

Police think he may have tried to hide out for a bit or get the shackles off one leg. Again the dog sniffed the bag and took off, but seemed to lose the scent of the suspect outside a subway stop.

As WCBS 880's Mike Smeltz reported, police believe Ortiz snuck away to the 14th Street No. 1, 2 and 3 train stop just steps from the main entrance.

From there, he could have gone any number of directions, since that stop also connects to the 14th street F and M train stops and the Sixth Avenue L Train stop.

Police canvased local businesses asking employees if they saw Ortiz as he fled the area.

"At first I was pretty nervous until I realized it was just petty larceny," employee Alex DiFiore said.

"You have to wonder, was anyone paying attention at all? Because you know if he was escorted here by policemen, it's kind of nuts that he would just be able to flee from the hospital room," resident Emma Fuchsberg said.

It isn't a new problem for the NYPD. There have been three cases of suspects escaping custody this year, and at least six last year, including one in June 2015 that made a mockery of detectives in Harlem who were seen on surveillance video being easily outrun by an attempted murder suspect who was still handcuffed, Layton reported.

A year ago, when a suspect bolted out the backdoor of a squad car, then-NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton did not hide his frustration.

"We cannot tolerate it, and needless to say, I am not pleased," he said.

Police said Ortiz is about 5 feet 6 inches tall and was last wearing a dark-colored pea coat, dark blue jeans, chocolate boots, no shirt, and leg shackles attached to one side and tucked inside of his boot, and he was possibly bleeding from the wrist.

Police have released a mugshot of Ortiz, as well as a security photo showing him leaving the hospital.

He is walking with a noticeable limp, police said.

Anyone with information was asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS or (888) 57-PISTA for Spanish, log onto the Crime Stoppers website, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.

As the search continued Thursday night, some officers remained inside the subway while others went into local businesses checking their surveillance video for any clues.