Liverpool knife attack woman on the run from hospital

May 10 2008 by Liza Williams, Liverpool Daily Post

A LIVERPOOL woman who was sent to a psychiatric unit after attacking her friend with a knife in a shower cubicle has escaped.

Carrie McCarten was sent to the specialised centre in Bury after a judge decided she was suffering from schizophrenia.

But the 21-year-old vanished on Wednesday.

She escaped from her carer at around 12.30pm during a visit to a dentist surgery in Bury town centre.

Police yesterday said that without the right medication, McCarten might become unwell.

Without continued treatment, she could become violent and harm others or herself.

They said she has links to north Liverpool and may well head back to the city. McCarten is thought to have fled without cash or a mobile phone, and hospital staff are concerned for her safety.

She is described as white, 5ft 8in and petite.

She has straight brown hair, recently cut to just above shoulder length, hazel eyes and was last seen wearing blue denim shorts and a navy blue and white striped T-shirt with black sandals. Anyone who knows her whereabouts was yesterday warned not to approach her but to call police.

McCarten admitted a charge of wounding with intent and witness intimidation in January.

Her victim, Paige Affelat, needed more than 100 stitches after she was repeatedly attacked with a knife and broken bottle as she showered at her home.