A wet, daring and dumb escape attempt was easily thwarted by local law enforcement this morning when an Humboldt County Correctional Facility inmate left his work crew and attempted to swim to freedom in the frigid waters of Humboldt Bay. 

The inmate, Christian Murphy, entered the bay near the Sacco Amphitheater, according to Redheaded Blackbelt, before swimming toward Woodley Island. After successfully making his way across the channel, Murphy was met by representatives from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, the Eureka Police Department and the U.S. Coast Guard and was taken into custody without incident.

More in the following press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On March 18 around 9:30 a.m., a Humboldt County Correctional Facility Inmate, Christian Murphy, 28, of Eureka, walked away from his inmate work crew while on a work detail in Eureka. Murphy was classified as a minimum security worker serving a county sentence. After a brief pursuit, Murphy was taken into custody by officers of the Eureka Police Department (EPD), transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility, and booked for escaping a county jail (PC4532(b)(1)).  

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank EPD for their assistance with this case. 

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.