N.C. Police Drones, K-9s Help Locate 7 Juveniles who Escaped from Psychiatric Hospital

The Raleigh Police Department, the Wake County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies deployed drones and K-9s to find seven children who escaped a psychiatric hospital.

Sept. 22, 2025

2 min read

What to know

Seven juveniles escaped on foot from Holly Hill Children’s Hospital in Raleigh on Sunday night, prompting a response from multiple law enforcement agencies.
Raleigh police, Wake County sheriff's deputies, state troopers and Capitol Police used drones and K-9s to locate all seven within three hours.
Authorities said the juveniles were not armed or dangerous and were safely returned to the hospital.

Officers from the Raleigh Police Department, the Wake County Sheriff's Office, the North Carolina Highway Patrol and the State Capitol Police Department deployed drones and K-9s to safely locate and return seven juveniles several hours after escaping a psychiatric hospital. — The Raleigh Police Department, along with other law enforcement agencies, used drones and K-9s to find seven juveniles several hours after escaping a psychiatric hospital Sunday.

Seven juveniles escaped from Holly Hill Children’s Hospital for several hours Sunday night before police found them using drones and police dogs, police said.

Police officers responded around 8 p.m. to a reported disturbance among patients at the psychiatric hospital on Michael J. Smith Drive.

They learned seven juveniles had escaped from the hospital on foot.

The Raleigh Police Department, Wake County Sheriff’s Office, N.C. Highway Patrol, and the State Capitol Police Department surrounded the area, found all seven juveniles and returned them to the hospital, according to a Police Department news release.

Officers from these agencies used canines and surveillance drones to help search for the juveniles over three hours.

“These juveniles were not considered armed or dangerous, and there was no threat to the surrounding community during this incident,” the news release stated.

Previous escapes last year

In March 2024, five teens, all boys, also escaped from the hospital, The News & Observer reported. They were reported found two days later.

In that case the parent of a 15-year-old patient told WRAL that police had said one of the boys had taken a badge to leave the hospital. The station reported three boys had run away from the hospital just days earlier.

All of those children were safely returned to the hospital.

Holly Hill Children’s Hospital opened in 2014 to provide psychiatric treatment to young patients, ages 5 to 17. It expanded in 2020, with plans for up to 71 beds.

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