DUNNELL — A Dunnell man is facing a felony charge in Martin County.

Phillip Harold Horswell, 50, has been charged with escaping from custody, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $3,000 fine.

On Sept. 23, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a witness who advised that Horswell had been at his residence on a weekend pass from the St. Peter mental health hospital. The man said he was getting ready to leave for church and went to get Horswell to go with him, but he was unable to find Horswell anywhere at his residence. The man’s residence is located in rural Martin County.

The man indicated that none of his vehicles were missing and the one gun he owns was still at his residence.

The man said he and Horswell had gone to Horswell’s residence in Dunnell the day before. The man said Horswell wanted to get his truck out so he could sell it to his niece. He also said Horswell had dropped off a box of clothes he did not need.

A Martin County Sheriff’s deputy asked the witness to show him the bedroom where Horswell had been sleeping. The deputy found the suitcase Horswell had brought with him, but it was empty. The bag that contained Horswell’s medication also was located, and it too was empty.

The deputy went to Horswell’s residence in Dunnell. Upon arrival, the deputy noticed that the truck the witness indicated had been pulled out of the garage and was gone. The deputy received no response to knocks on the door to the residence.

The deputy spoke with a special investigator with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, who said he received a call from St. Peter in regard to Horswell’s escape from custody. Records show Horswell was committed as mentally ill and dangerous in 2010, and continued to be committed at the time of his escape.

Records further shoe Horswell had been granted a pass to go to the witness’s residence from Sept. 22 to 9 p.m. Sept. 23, when he was to return to the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center. As a condition of the pass, Horswell was to remain under the supervision of the witness during this time.