PRISON ESCAPEE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 878, 23 January 1930, Page 9

PRISON ESCAPEE

DOMINION SUSPECT CAUGHT AT SYDNEY TWO YEARS WANTED Reed. 11.15 a.m. SYDNEY, Today. i *.. t The arrest was effected today of Roy Raymond Witting, described as a carrier. He had lived for two years at Punchbowl, a suburb of Sydney, where he had conducted a successful business. Witting was arrested on a warrant from New Zealand, which alleged that he had escaped from prison at Paparua in April, 1927, since when his whereabouts had been unknown. A remarkable feature of the case is that Witting made no attempt to hide liis identity from the police. After his escape he made his way to Australia under his own name and upon establishing business did not hide, the fact that he came from New Zealand. He married three months ago. He was remanded until February 6. Two prisoners, Raymond Witting ancl another man, escaped on the afternoon of April 19, .1927, from Paparua prison. They took advantage of the smoke and the consequent excitement caused by a scrub fire on the prison estate, when the prisoners were trying to prevent the lire from spreading to large trees near the railway line. ’Search parties were organised and the other man was recaptured at Sockburn, but Witting got away.