- A 17-year-old boy escaped prison less than an hour after he first arrived
- The teenager snuck out of the Northern Territory prison at 12.45am on Thursday
- Officers and a police dog searched for the teenager minutes after the escape
- The young boy is still on the run and police are investigating his whereabouts
A juvenile criminal has snuck out an emergency exit and climbed through coils of razor wire to make a bold escape from a Northern Territory youth detention centre.
The boy, 17, arrived at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre shortly after midnight on Thursday and made his escape around 12.45am after being taken to a shower area.
A spokeswoman said the officers escorting the teenager were processing his arrival and were unable to see him sneak out an emergency door because their view was obscured by a reception desk.
17-year-old boy escaped Don Dale Youth Detention Centre (pictured) 45 minutes after arriving
He escaped around 12.45am and climbed through four coils of razor wire (stock image)
Once outside, the boy jumped over an internal fence and navigated his way through four coils of razor wire, injuring himself, before climbing over another fence and escaping.
Territory Duty Superintendent Shaun Gill told ABC News he was ‘pretty confident’ the boy was outside the confines of the prison after a thorough police search.
Police were at the prison within six minutes of the escape but were unable to find the teenager – who remained on the run as of midday on Thursday.
The detention centre is now reviewing its supervision and escape response procedures.
Anyone who sees the boy, or knows of his whereabouts, is urged to contact NT police.
The brazen escape comes after a series of escape scares from Don Dale Detention Centre.
Two boys escaped in April and staff did not realise the boys were missing for 45 minutes, according to The Guardian.
Last month four boys tried to escape after a workshop training session.
The boy was taken to the shower area which is where he escaped from the prison (stock image)
Police were at the prison within six minutes of escape but were unable to find the teenager who remains on the run (stock image)