Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Police located three residents of a women's shelter home who escaped with a fourth one from the home by breaking the glass of an emergency exit. Director of the Ministry of Social Affairs' Makkah office Abdullah Al-Tawi said the home usually houses women and girls who do not want to live with their families or those who have been abandoned by their families. "Some of them are former prisoners who were released and their families have refused to take them back in. Others have just run away from their homes looking for freedom. The four residents who ran away have no criminal record but they have records of misdemeanor," said Al-Tawi. He added the home had reported them as missing last Thursday and the police had been investigating the incident. A source from Makkah Police said police suspect the inmates had external accomplices. "The group was led by a 19-year-old girl who had a record of running away. She lived in a city outside of Makkah and her family reported her missing. She was found and put into the shelter home after her family refused to take her back," said the source. The source also said her brother came forth and accepted to take her to his home but she escaped from his home as well. "The shelter had to take her in again. The home convinced her family to marry her off so she can settle in her own home. The family married her off but she ran away from her husband after a few months of marriage," said the source. "Two of the inmates are sisters. They ran away with the 19-year-old after she convinced them to join her. The home gave several counseling sessions to the girl she was not responsive or cooperative," said the source. The source also said the police are still looking for the fourth inmate.
