Utah State Hospital escapee returns peacefully

A Utah State Hospital escapee, initially deemed "potentially violent" when he fled the Provo mental institution over the weekend, returned peacefully on Wednesday.

Richard Ryan Brock, 28, contacted relatives and "he was then returned to the facility about 7:30 a.m. [Wednesday] with the assistance of his family," said Utah Department of Human Services spokeswoman Elizabeth Sollis.

Sollis described Brock's demeanor when he returned as nonviolent, and she said there were no reports of any violent actions by him during his days away from the hospital.

"Obviously, staff will be watching him for a while. They will be doing a comprehensive assessment, which will include security concerns and what activities, etc., he will be allowed," she said.

Brock had last seen running away from a group just outside the Provo facility on Sunday morning.

Brock's grandmother, Rebecca Haynes, of Salt Lake City, said that her grandson has a history of going into psychotic rants and rages — though his sparse criminal record does not contain convictions other than drug-related counts stretching back to 2006.

According to 3rd District Court records, Brock was committed to the hospital in January 2011. He was transported there directly from the Salt Lake County jail, where he had been incarcerated on suspicion of attempted drug distribution counts.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims