Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a female psychologist who is accused of taking a mentally ill patient from a hospital without permission.
Michelle Messer, 41, is accused of taking the patient, 46-year-old Cory Chapin, from Arkansas State Hospital on Tuesday.
Messer is wanted on a misdemeanor charge of aiding an unauthorized departure after she allegedly used the hospital’s forensic unit to walk Chapin out of the Little Rock facility.
An arrest warrant has been issued for psychologist Michelle Messer, 41 (right), who is accused of taking a patient, 46-year-old Cory Chapin (left), from Arkansas State Hospital without permission on Tuesday
Messer (pictured) is wanted on a misdemeanor charge of aiding an unauthorized departure after she allegedly used the hospital’s forensic unit to walk Chapin out of the Little Rock facility. They drove away around 8.20am in Messer’s blue Mazda 3S Grand Touring
According to hospital police, the pair drove away at around 8.20am in a blue Mazda 3S Grand Touring car with Arkansas plates 502RBD, which is Messer’s personal car.
In 2014, Chapin faced several charges, including kidnapping and drug possession. Allegedly, he claimed that God had instructed him to kidnap and rape a woman who had cut his hair, reported the Lovely County Citizen.
He was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in 2015. A doctor said that Chapin has bipolar disorder and needed treatment, otherwise he would pose a ‘moderate risk’ for violence.
This is not the first time that Chapin has escaped. While on a 48-hour leave from Arkansas State to visit his father in February 2016, he fled. He was found in October 2017 in Las Vegas and extradited back to the hospital.
The state Department of Human Services says Messer will be fired once she is found.
The DHS website says the hospital’s 24-bed forensic service area assesses and treats patients with mental illnesses who are accused of a crime.
In 2014, Chapin (pictured) faced several charges, including kidnapping and drug possession. Allegedly, he claimed that God had instructed him to kidnap and rape a woman who had cut his hair. He was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in 2015
This is not the first time that Chapin has escaped. While on a 48-hour leave from Arkansas State (pictured) to visit his father in February 2016, he fled. He was found in October 2017 in Las Vegas and extradited back to the hospital
The site also says that all people in the unit have been court-ordered to undergo evaluation or treatment.
Messer specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy and has 13 years of experience providing treatment to intellectually disabled clients with psychiatric disorders, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Authorities described Messer as about 5’2″ tall and weighing approximately 130 pound with brown hair and hazel eyes. Chapin is about 5’6″ tall and weighs about 187 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Messer and Chapin is asked to call the Arkansas State Hospital Police Department at 501-686-9212.