Restoration Youth Camp escapees captured

PRICHARD, Ala. (WALA) - Four teens who escaped from a youth academy in Prichard were back in custody Wednesday but the incident has put the facility on the defense.

Restoration Youth Camp Director William Bishop admits there have been a lot of escapes at the boot camp facility, and it happened again Tuesday, March 5.

"All four of those guys were actually lifting weights inside in the barracks, and I went to deal with a parent, and they broke the door out and went out the back door," Bishop said.

Bishop came to the fence to talk to FOX10 News, but later agreed to let our crew inside the compound.

"They took some device and broke the back door open, ran out and jumped the fence. No issues with these kids," Bishop explained.

Police Captain Charles Kennedy, who didn't talk to us on camera, said he has "serious concerns" about the facility.

Kennedy said police found the four teens ranging in age from 14 to 17 Tuesday morning. Kennedy talked about the numerous escapes and allegations of abuse. He said police were holding the teens while they investigate this latest escape.

Bishop said the faith based facility has been fighting the allegations for a year. 

According to Bishop, they've been investigated by the State Department of Human Resources and the district attorney. Neither found evidence of abuse.

"They don't see these kids when they’re here, and they're strung out on drugs. They don't see these kids when they come here, and they're cussing their parents for all their worth. They don't see these kids slapping their brothers and sisters around or being abusive to their brothers and sisters; being kicked out of four and five schools, seven schools, being transferred from place to place. They don't see those things," Bishop said.

The director said the allegations of abuse are unfounded, but we wanted to talk to the teenagers to see what some of them had to say.

"It's a well structured program. I been here about a year, and it's helped me very much," one 15-year-old boy said.

"I don't feel that I've been abused.  Actually, this place kind of helped me out," said a 16-year-old boy.

A 19-year-old, who had run away from the facility himself in the past, said,

"Honestly, the people that say they've been mistreated, they just don't want to be here so they just make up excuses to try to leave."

A 17-year-old girl who's been at the camp for a year and a half talked about discipline at the facility.

"They get something called PT, which is physical training.  If they refuse to be PT-ed, we have something called isolation.  Isolation is a box basically where you're there by yourself. You still get food. You go to sleep. You go to the bathroom. It's just the fact that if you refuse to be PT-ed, which is your consequence, you're going to have a bigger consequence which is isolation," she said.

The director said the parents for all of the teens who escaped have indicated they want their children returned to the facility.

Last May, six teenagers escaped in the facility's van. They were captured in Florida.

The camp is operated by Solid Rock Ministries in Mobile.