Perth’s Quarantine Houdini: A Rope‑Slinging Escape
When a woman from Queensland was seen escaping quarantine by scaling a rope of bedsheets from a hotel window, one might have greeted the scene with “well, that’s not how it’s supposed to go.” Now Perth’s newest escape artist has done the ultimate hand‑shake with the law.
How It Happened
- After flying in from Brisbane, the 39‑year‑old man was turned away by Western Australia’s “tight‑rope” border checks.
- He was told to leave the state within 48 hours and was booked into a hotel for mandatory quarantine.
- Just before 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, he fashioned a makeshift rope from tied bedsheets, climbed down from a window on the fourth floor, and vanished into the night.
- Police posted a photo—yes, a live‑action photo—of the sagging rope hanging off a brick building’s top floor.
The Aftermath
- Approximately eight hours after the escape, the customer was found and taken into custody.
- Charges: failing to comply with a direction and providing false or misleading information.
- Authorities didn’t reveal his name beyond the fact that he’s 39, tested negative for COVID‑19, and left no clear motive.
Why It Matters
Australia’s strategy of shutting borders and mandating hotel quarantine has helped keep COVID‑19 numbers relatively low compared to many other developed nations. Yet, the policy has produced a few jailbreaks, including a recent incident where a woman allegedly dropped from two balconies and slammed a door into the Cairns region.
So while the nation has shooed off the virus, it’s turned its own walls into a stage for escape artists. Watch this space for the next chapter in Perth’s latest “escape-from-quarantine” saga.
