WELLINGTON: A New Zealand man who tried to escape from police by clambering naked into the ceiling of an Auckland hospital sparked a seven-hour manhunt before he was recaptured, police said Monday. The 25-year-old was arrested early Monday for driving offenses and taken to hospital to receive treatment for an ankle injury, but fled into the building's labyrinthine ceiling space while taking a shower, police said. The hospital's emergency ward was evacuated as a search for the man found only his discarded gown, with police eventually forced to call the fire brigade and specialist search teams with thermal imaging equipment. However, he continued to elude his pursuers and local media reported that patrol cars around the hospital made loudhailer appeals to the public to report any sightings of a naked man. He was eventually found in a ceiling space not far from where he originally disappeared and was charged with escaping police custody.
