Tasmania's Prison Service will investigate the escape from custody of a man who was later found shot dead — with police calling for a person who lent their phone to the deceased man to come forward.
Inmate Nicholas Aaron Scott, 26, absconded from custody while being treated at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) on Monday night, with police receiving the call at 10.50pm.
At 1.30am on Tuesday, police received a report of gunshots at a property at Black Snake Road, Granton — about 20 kilometres north of Hobart.
They found Scott dead outside the house.
On Wednesday afternoon, police announced they had charged a 20-year-old man with murder.
On Tuesday, police said they were seeking a member of the public who they believe lent Scott their phone "to make a call" about 11.40pm on Monday outside a bar in the popular nightclub precinct — approximately 50 minutes after his reported escape and less than a kilometre away from the hospital.
In a post on social media, police said the person who lent Scott their phone was "not in any trouble but you may have important information we need".
Scott's escape is the third such incident in as many years involving a prisoner receiving medical attention while in the custody of prison guards.
In a statement, a United Voice union correctional officer delegate said "incidents like these affect not only the family of the prisoner but also affects our members that were involved in the incident".
"We are ensuring that our members affected are getting the support they require and assisting authorities investigating this matter."
The ABC put questions to the Department of Justice, including asking about the number of guards who accompany prisoners during visits to medical facilities, whether guards were relieved once their shifts had ended and whether the department would review procedures in the wake of the most recent escape.
In a statement, a Tasmania Prison Service spokesperson said the service "cannot comment on individual prisoner circumstances" and "as the matter is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, no further details can be provided at this stage".
The spokesperson said a "separate investigation will also be carried out by the TPS into the circumstances of this incident".
"The TPS undertakes individual risk assessments to determine the appropriate security processes and staffing requirements required to undertake all external escorts.
"All escorting staff are replaced after their shifts, given that some prisoners may be in hospital for days or weeks."
The incident is the latest in a series of escapes by prisoners who were receiving treatment at Tasmanian hospitals or were in transit to or from a medical facility.
In February 2022, a prisoner swallowed objects including razor blades and was taken to RHH for treatment, escaping a few days later when a guard went to the toilet.
He was retaken into custody four days later.
In 2020, a man was charged after allegedly assaulting a prison officer and also escaping custody at RHH.
In 2013, a man escaped from custody while being transported from the same hospital back to the Hobart Remand Centre. He was taken into custody soon after at the nearby Queens Domain parkland.
In 2011, a detainee from the Ashley Youth Detention Centre escaped from custody after receiving treatment at the Launceston General Hospital.
On Tuesday, Tasmania Police Detective Inspector Troy Morrisby said the Granton shooting posed "no threat to the wider public".
"This is between people known to each other … it wasn't a random attack or a random shooting."
