LARNED, Kan. (KSNW) — A man who briefly escaped custody at Larned State Hospital in 2023 pleaded guilty.
Gary Leslie Furthmyer, a convicted sex offender, was enrolled in the Sexual Predator Treatment Program, where residents receive extra privileges. Furthmyer and other offenders had just returned from a trip to the casino in Dodge City on the evening of June 23, 2023.
The Pawnee County Attorney’s Office says Furthmyer threw his cell phone in the trash and ran away during the check-in process. The search for him involved the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Office, the Edwards County Sheriff’s Department, and multiple K-9 units from surrounding jurisdictions.
Less than three hours later, he was found hiding in a tree row. In addition to being charged with aggravated escape from custody, Furthmyer was also charged with violating the Kansas Offender Registration Act. The county attorney said Furthmyer failed to register his cell phone with the sheriff’s office.
Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett says that, as part of a plea agreement, the violation of the Registration Act was dropped in exchange for a plea to aggravated escape from custody. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16.
According to records from the Kansas Department of Corrections, Furthmyer previously escaped from Lansing in 1988 and 2012.
